Yellowcard bring '20 Years of Ocean Avenue' to Pennsylvania with Mayday Parade, Story of the Year & This Wild Life

August 21, 2023

2023 has continued to be another year in the golden revival of pop punk bands as Yellowcard's reunion tour has swept the country by storm with a massive supporting cast that included Mayday Parade, Story of the Year & This Wild Life for the closing leg. From the minute the band announced their first reunion date, 'Yellowcard fever' has swept the nation by storm as the timing couldn't have been better for the band's revival amidst the renewed interest within the genre. Their farewell tour saw the band playing a majority of intimate clubs with a good amount being sold out and others not quite hitting that mark - when it came to ticket sales for their return few hotter tours existed as fans flocked to see their favorite band once more on the stage.


Fueled by the hype the band hit the road with a strong first leg of the tour that sold out almost instantly before a second round of tour dates were added that included the local date in Hershey, Pennsylvania the Giant Center. Not only was the band joined by an incredibly strong cast of talented bands but they fused the party into the tour by bringing 'Emo Night Brooklyn' out on the road for the tour to keep the vibes up all night long. The combination of having a DJ on stage set a new standard within the industry that all tours should look to copy. Yellowcard hit the stage to a crowd that had already sang their lungs out to a massive setlist of hits from Mayday Parade, Story of the Year & This Wild Life. Across all 3 support sets the Giant Center crowd had everything from mosh pits, crowd surfers & more that set the bar high for the arrival of the pop punk veterans on stage.


Across nineteen songs Yellowcard not only reminded their fans that it "was never a phase" but also why they were one of the biggest bands in the scene before disbanding. You could close your eyes at any point in their set you could close your eyes for a brief second to be transported back to a parking lot on Warped Tour (granted it was a lot colder in the arena than the sweaty summer sun ever was). The setlist wove the crowd through the band's historic legacy of songs that included some surprises along the way such as Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade coming out to sing "Hang You Up" with that band. Critically the tour's success speaks louder than any words about the performance ever could. Yellowcard has always been one of the strongest bands in the scene and some time off the road did them wonders as they've returned possibly better than ever despite that cliche.


Since their return Yellowcard has been nonstop and one can only wonder what is next for the band as they wrapped up the biggest (and possibly most successful) tour of their career a few days after the performance at the Giant Center in Hershey. Pop punk is back and bigger than ever so it wouldn't be surprising to see the band come out swinging with some new material for fans. Whatever the future holds Yellowcard have really notched their place in history with this tour of comebacks alongside Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance - for now all we can do is be thankful that we all go to sing "Ocean Avenue" together at least one more time and wait patiently for whatever comes next for Yellowcard.

Yellowcard

with Mayday Parade, Story of the Year & This Wild Life

20 Years of Ocean Avenue Tour


Giant Center - Hershey, PA

August 15, 2023


Article Written By:

Matt Christine
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