The 4th annual When We Were Young Festival is returning to Las Vegas on October 18-19, and this may be the most exciting year yet! Headlined by Blink-182 and Panic! At The Disco, the 2025 rendition features 60+ artists across all your favorite subgenres — pop-punk, alternative, Metalcore, and so much more. From grand comebacks (hello, Brendon Urie) to just-released tracks that mix newness with nostalgia, here are the top 5 things to expect during WWWY weekend:
Panic! At The Disco’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out — Front to Back
For the first time ever, Panic! will perform their 2005 debut A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out in full — the album that lifted them from MySpace cult favorites to scene royalty. If that weren’t exciting enough, WWWY will also mark Brendon Urie’s return to the stage after disbanding the group nearly three years ago.
Attendees will hear these classic songs live for the first time in years. Can you believe that Urie hasn’t played the emo anthem “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” since the final leg of the “Viva Las Vengeance Tour” in March 2023? Other core Fever tracks, including “But It’s Better If You Do,” “Time to Dance,” and “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage,” haven’t graced the stage in nearly a decade.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment that Panic! At the Disco fans never saw coming — Brendon Urie back in the spotlight, donning theatrical flair and singing the very songs that defined an era. If you once belted out “closing the goddamn door” under your bedroom lights (and come on, who didn’t?), WWWY is set to bring you full circle — a 20th-anniversary Fever celebration in Vegas style: big, emotional, and unapologetically emo.
blink-182 Going Deep on Enema, Take Off, and Beyond
What’s the ultimate emo flex? Headlining a festival where nearly half the lineup has named your band as one of their biggest influences, and Blink-182 expertly fits that bill. Big names like All Time Low, We The Kings, Panic! At The Disco and more would likely not exist without the core trio of pop-punk kings… so it figures that they couldn’t pick just one album for When We Were Young.
While Panic! revisit their beginnings, blink-182 are going all in on their three-decade legacy. They’ll perform songs from Enema of the State, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and their self-titled album… while we’re still holding out hope for a deep cut or two. Given that their debut record, Cheshire Chat, turns 30 years old in 2025, is it too much to ask that we hear “M&M’s” or “Wasting Time?”
Blink’s reunion over the past couple of years has been nothing less than iconic — with thousands packing stadiums to hear Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker perform the classics. Are you ready to hear “All the Small Things,” “First Date,” and “Dammit” under the Vegas stars? Because we sure are.
Nostalgia Meets New Releases
While nostalgia is the core emotion that When We Were Young Fest stirs up, there’s also plenty of new music to satisfy your emo cravings. Several legacy acts are arriving with fresh tracks….
AFI are touring behind their new record Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, which has already produced multiple live debuts.
All Time Low are supporting Everyone’s Talking!, released earlier this year.
Yellowcard put out their first new album in nine years, Better Days, this month, while currently touring with A Day To Remember.
Ice Nine Kills released a new single, “The Laugh Track,” in October 2025
I Prevail & The Offspring have also released new albums in recent months.
Guest Appearances and Crossovers
If history is any indication, expect a few surprise collaborations on the Las Vegas stage. Last year’s editions saw everything from classic pop-punk crossovers to unexpected guests joining for covers, mashups, and encore chaos. And we’re not ruling anything out when 80% of the emo population gets together in Sin City.
Avril Lavigne and All Time Low are friends and frequent collaborators, often known for taking the stage together. And given that ATL’s friends including I Prevail, The Maine, and Simple Plan will all be present, anything is possible in terms of collaborations.Other potential mashups?
Bryan Garris of Knocked Loose may share the stage with Motionless in White for guest vocals on the brutally heavy track, “Slaughterhouse, while more Metalcore favorites join forces for a scream-filled chorus, or five.
A Generation’s Soundtrack, Louder Than Ever
Between album anniversary specials and the return of the Warped Tour, it’s easy to say that 2025 was the year of emo… and it only continues with When We Were Young. This lineup covers every spectrum of the emo universe — and all types of attendees will be covered whether they hope to sway gently, sing along, or “open up this f***ing pit.”
With 60+ artists on the lineup, WWWY ranges from the melodic to the menacing. Weezer, Boys Like Girls, and The Cab carry the pop-punk torch, while The Used, Taking Back Sunday, and AFI dive into the darker, more theatrical side of post-hardcore. For fans craving breakdowns and circle pits, the heavier end of the bill includes Knocked Loose, Ice Nine Kills, and Kubhlai Khan TX to ease you into the Metalcore moments.
Basically? WWWY 2025 promises to deliver something for every shade of the scene… and you’ll be running from stage to stage as you catch favorites from every subgenre.
