It’s been a week since Vans Warped Tour covered the grounds of Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. Over several thousand fans from different backgrounds, ages, and countries gathered to watch their favorite bands perform on the eight different stages that adorned the festival. To this day, the fans are the one factor that stood out to me.

It was my first time attending Warped Tour. I had the honor of attending alongside Sabrina Amoriello, the creator of the amazing The Concert Chronicles. Without her, I don’t know how I would’ve traversed the enormous festival grounds myself. With her confidence and determination, I met so many new faces including other photographers, musicians, and, especially, fellow fans. Sabrina and I went around asking multiple people, “Who are you barricade for?,” “What song best defines your emo phase?,” etc. There were so many different answers, and it helped us learn more about different people and their music tastes.

On the second day of the festival, while Sabrina was conducting interviews with beloved artists, I went around taking photos of fans, getting to know each and every one of them. It was fascinating to see how some were life-long friends, or others were strangers-turned-friends at the festival. It was also really cool seeing the different ways that people styled their attire for the festival, some doing face paint in honor of their faves others doing it to make a statement and stand out. Vans Warped Tour gives fans their own platform to express themselves, celebrating their differences amongst one another.

That is one of the things I love about music festivals and, to be more specific, Vans Warped Tour in general. Despite what is going on in the world, as a fan, you can join together to dance, love, and, most importantly, scream your lungs out to your favorite artists at the festival, joined under the shared love of music. Vans Warped Tour also makes it possible for fans to discover new bands, falling in love with their sound as they start to gain a following.

There were also meet and greets with different artists, giving the authentic vibe that Vans Warped Tour has brought since the beginning. There were many photo opportunities too. Such as the red couch at the Vans Warped Tour Museum, the black limousine with red roses, and a spray painted wall with Vans Warped Tour on it – people also used this wall to spray paint their own shirts! Also, at the Vans Unplugged stage, there were long tables where you could design your own tote bag with markers, sitting next to strangers while enjoying the acts performing on stage.

As someone who went to Warped Tour for the first time last weekend, as a music lover, I hope I can only continue to go for as long as the festival runs in the future. Even if those who I briefly spoke to at the festival don’t know my name, remember my face, or see the photos that I am sharing of them, I only hope for they know that I truly appreciate the time they took out of their festival agenda to speak with me and let me take a photo of them to share their look with others. I cannot wait for Vans Warped Tour next year, I hope to create even more memories as I attend it again.