The Las Vegas strip may transform into a Black Parade tonight. The When We Were Young festival, which featured nostalgia-inducing emo bands like My Chemical Romance and Paramore, announced Saturday morning that the festival would be canceled for the day due to high wind warnings. The National Weather Service website claimed there might be high winds of up to 65 mph in Las Vegas, where the festival is taking place. Impacts of high wind would include damaging winds that will blow down trees and power lines, widespread power outages, and travel difficulty. Some fans went to TikTok, claiming they did not see the high winds they were warned of. However, others, specifically Vegas locals, did note the severity of the winds. “All the furniture in my backyard has basically blown away,†shared one woman on TikTok.
According to Variety, some attendees found out about the cancellation as late as 10:30 a.m., a half-hour after the doors would’ve opened. The last two remaining dates, tomorrow Sunday, October 22, and next Saturday, October 29, are currently scheduled to go on as planned. The festival’s statement offered refunds for today’s guests but did not mention an option to attend another day’s concert.
However, not all emo hope is lost! Bands like We the Kings and All-American Rejects announced they are separately working on pop-up shows to make up for tonight’s cancellation. Fans are creating threads on Twitter to update on which bands will be performing tonight in alternative venues. Even if people aren’t able to attend the last-minute shows, they will at least have an emo playlist on the ready.
The festival’s full statement is below:
“When We Were Young Festival organizers have spent the last several days proactively preparing the festival grounds for a windy Saturday. The National Weather Service has now upgraded their Saturday forecast to a High Wind Warning, including dangerous 30-40 mph sustained winds with potential 60 mph gusts,†the festival’s statement reads. “Under advisement of the National Weather Service and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, we have no other choice than to cancel today’s When We Were Young Festival. The safety of our fans, artists and staff will always be our top priority.â€