With bands going on reunion tours left and right and festivals like When We Were Young thriving off the nostalgia of the early pop-punk scene, it’s starting to feel like it was never really a phase. Both fans old and new have been slipping on their checkered Vans to relive the old Warped Tour days, gathering along with some of the hottest pop-punk bands that are still around for the Sad Summer Festival 2024. 

Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, the Sad Summer Festival is a touring festival centered around the pop-punk and alternative music scene that developed during the Warped Tour days. Touring all across the country, the second stop of the festival was at The Observatory Festival Grounds in Santa Ana on Saturday, July 13th, and included sets from The Wonder Years, We the Kings, The Maine, Mayday Parade, and more. 

Daisy Grenade

One of the first sets of the day was from “power punk bubble grunge” group, Daisy Grenade. The duo, consisting of Dani Nigro and Keaton Whittaker, channel a fierce, feminine energy with tons of bite through crunchy guitars and unabashed lyricism about the pains of being a woman in today’s world. Instrumentally, the low ends really carried this set with heavy grooves and pounding drums. Towards the latter half of the set, they covered Nirvana’s “Polly” with a rather gnarly, sensual twist. 

The Summer Set

Up next was power-pop group, The Summer Set. Their set was very cheeky with plenty of head-bobbing summer jams from “Jukebox (Life Goes On)” to “Chelsea.” The Summer Set embodies the era of MySpace music so well with their catchy choruses, slick guitar riffs, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. There was also a slice of country twang on the lead singer’s voice that made this set perfect for an Orange County crowd. The band threw in their cover of “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction on their set, but the crowd absolutely loved it. It seemed like each band on the lineup agreed to add a cover to their sets, so it was fun anticipating what other cover songs were in store for later in the day. 

One thing that was pleasant about the Sad Summer Festival was that it was held in the parking lot right outside of The Observatory venue, but it never felt cramped. There was plenty of room to walk around, buy merch, grab a bite to eat, and there were even opportunities to meet any band members on the lineup who were hanging out by their booths. They captured that excitement that concert goers felt when walking around the festival grounds during the Warped Tour days. It’s also wonderful that there was only one stage all the bands performed on so there was no overlapping schedule to worry about.  

Knuckle Puck

Next the pop-punk outfit from Chicago, Knuckle Puck, took to the stage. One of the heavier bands on the lineup, Knuckle Puck unequivocally had one of the strongest sets of the entire day. With brutal guitar work, obliterating drums, and scorching vocals, Knuckle Puck really had it all. There was plenty of Knuckle Puck merch in the crowd, and they all showed up for their set. There was plenty of headbanging, crowd surfing, and there was even a circle pit that formed for the last few songs. 

Real Friends 

Another band from Illinois, Real Friends, also played. They had a very midwest-emo vibe to their sound with math-rock guitar licks, shouty vocals, and rather sad lyrics which was fitting for a festival called Sad Summer. Sticking to the cover song agenda, Real Friends performed a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness” and crushed it. This was another heavier set with the band encouraging everyone to get in the pit and jump around, the crowd obliged. 

Up until this point, it was difficult not to notice this fact, but a majority of the bands on the lineup consist of a lead singer who does not usually play any instruments on stage. Maybe they will perform a song or two playing a rhythm guitar, but as a whole, most of the bands on the Sad Summer Festival 2024 lineup consist of lead singers who just sing, which is commendable. It allows the singer to captain the band and command the crowd, while being able to move up and down the stage as much as they please. All members of the band get to fully immerse themselves in their respective instruments and shine through their musicianship. 

We The Kings

The pop-punk legends from Bradenton, Florida, We the Kings, took to the stage next. Their set was filled with nonstop, sugary-sweet jams with infectious choruses and shimmery guitars. It’s nice to see the lead singer still rocking the long, flowy red hair. They opened with “Skyway Avenue” which was a blast from the past. There was a cute moment where the lead singer wanted to film a dance routine with the crowd to show his daughter. It was in that moment that made fans realize how much they have grown up since listening to these bands, now everyone is much older with their own kids to share their music taste with. 

We the Kings jokingly introduced a song as their most popular song, and proceeded to play “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. Everyone in the crowd went wild, which is the appropriate reaction to hearing “Mr. Brightside.” They ended with their actual most popular song, “Check Yes, Juliet,” which banged just as hard as it did when it first came out seventeen years ago. 

The Wonder Years

The midwest emo band from Philadelphia, The Wonder Years, played next and they absolutely demolished that set. There were countless die-hard fans in the crowd screaming along to every lyric which made this set feel like people were at the festival to exclusively see The Wonder Years. There were three guitarists on stage which created a huge sound wall of blistering riffs, the lead singer had immaculate energy and the craziest hops. The lyrics were probably the most striking out of any of the bands on the lineup. 

Out of the ten tracks The Wonder Years played, some highlights included “I Don’t Like Who I Was Then,” “GODDAMNITALL,” and the last song of the set, “Came Out Swinging.” Before playing the last track, the lead singer exclaimed that he had two things he wanted to say, “First, Protect Trans Youth.” And secondly, “Free Palestine.” It’s always admirable to see artists use their platform to relay a call to action no matter what crowd they are performing for. 

The Maine 

Festival co-headliners, The Maine were up next and they played a silky smooth set with plenty of grooves. With pink lights illuminating the stage, the group walked out as “Dancing Queen” blasted through the speakers which is always a good indication of a good time. This set definitely had the most production of the entire day with the lights and fog machines. The moon, serendipitously shining down on the festival grounds. Musically, The Maine were probably the most pop driven group on the lineup with very easy to digest tunes that were sweet on the ears. They are similar to Maroon 5 post — Songs About Jane in the way that they have a solid group of talented musicians, but they choose to cater to the largest demographic sonically speaking. However, they put on a great show, they had lots of crowd participation, even bringing up a fan to sing part of “Girls Do What They Want,” and seemed genuinely gracious for being able to perform after all these years being in a band. 

Mayday Parade

The last band of the night was Mayday Parade. This was a phenomenal set to close out the festival. On stage, there were giant sunflowers decorated all around which paired nicely as the group walked out to “Summer Nights” from Grease. The band played a mix of old and new songs from “Jersey,” “Stay,” and their newest single, “Pretty Good to Feel Something.” Watching Mayday Parade perform, they looked just as youthful and full of energy as they were back in 2005. The crowd was reciprocating the energy right back — singing along, jumping up and down, and any other movements their elder millennial bodies would allow them to do. The last song of the night was “Jamie All Over,” which ended with the entire festival screaming the chorus. It was a beautiful way to end a day of nostalgic sad songs. 

Overall, Sad Summer Festival 2024 was a fun time reliving some of the glory days when pop-punk music was the craze. There was a good mix of different pockets of the genre on the lineup this year, but it would have been nice to see more women, POC, LGTBQ+, and other people carrying the genre to new heights still to this day. Aside from that, the Sad Summer Festival is definitely a bang for the buck if someone doesn’t want to spend an arm and a leg buying a ticket to travel out of state. To see upcoming dates and where the festival will be coming to next, check out their website. 

Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi