As the emo rock band ripped through songs like “Saying Sorry” and the popular cut that gave the festival its name, “Ohio Is For Lovers,” Woodruff offered several words of encouragement.
“There was a time when no one gave a (expletive) about us,” he said, referring to the earlier days of this incarnation the emo/screamo scene of the late ’90s and early ’00s. “Look at us now.”
Though the songs are by design “emotional,” there were a lot of smiles during the single-day fest that brought together fans of the emo and screamo music genres on a warm, sunny Southern California day at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, Aug. 26. They took in sets by Alkaline Trio, Thrice, Sleeping With Sirens, Bayside, Thursday, Atreyu, Touché Amoré, Norma Jean, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Further Seems Forever and more while reveling in the nostalgia of the music that first hit their ears back when MySpace was thriving.
Dustin Kensrue of Thrice performs during the California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Thursday performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Brandon Saller of Atreyu performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Cory Brandan of Norma Jean performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Atreyu performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Geoffrey Rickly of Thursday performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
J.T. Woodruff of Hawthorne Heights performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Brandon Saller of Atreyu performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Mark McMillon of Hawthorne Heights performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Touché Amoré performs during the California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Chris Popadak of Hawthorne Heights performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Hawthorne Heights performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Further Seems Forever performs during the California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Thursday performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Alkaline Trio performs during the California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Norma Jean performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
J.T. Woodruff of Hawthorne Heights performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Atom Willard of Alkaline Trio performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Touché Amoré performs during the California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Krystal Quiroz has her makeup done at the MySpace Your Face booth during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Thrice performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Thursday performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Sleeping With Sirens performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Norma Jean performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Fans of the band Thursday sing-a-long during their performance at the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Cory Brandan of Norma Jean performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Atom Willard of Alkaline Trio performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Fans of Alkaline Trio cheer during their performance at the California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Further Seems Forever performs during the California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Marc McKnight of Atreyu performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Atreyu performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio performs during the first-ever California Is For Lovers Festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado on Saturday, August 26, 2023. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Bands played nonstop from the time the doors opened with acts appearing on two stages with no set overlap. In between watching the bands, fans shopped in the vendor tents, which offered a variety of clothing items, vinyl records, posters and a lot of emo/Halloween-themed wares and gifts.
They also participated in a dunk-a-punk charity game and offered three chances to show off their pitching skills in an effort to send various performing artists into the dunk tank. As a throwback to all of the wonderful side-swept, teased up bangs and oh-so-thick-and-dark eyeliner looks of the early ’00s, there was a MySpace Your Face booth that provided some quick emo makeovers and a MySpace Top 8 banner backdrop to take photos with.
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Since the event was co-produced by Orange County’s Brew Ha Ha Productions, which organizes numerous music and craft beer festivals throughout Southern California and beyond, they partnered with Anaheim’s Rad Beer Co. to create a special California Is For Lovers West Coast IPA. At the event, it was sold in a souvenir tall can, which was wrapped with a cool label that included the festival logo and the names of all of the bands performing.
Yes, the emo scene is once again healthy and thriving. Its fans have all grown up and now they’re back out to have a good time — some of them with offspring in tow. There were plenty of kids and teenagers running around the event, too, sporting their favorite black band T-shirts, oversize headphones for ear protection, singing-yelling along to the songs their millennial parents undoubtedly blast at home and in the car on repeat. Some even crowd surfed for the first time.
These bands weren’t just leaning on their now decade-plus old hits either.
Several of the acts have new material that fits well sprinkled in with the more popular songs. Orange County-based bands Atreyu and Thrice were clear festival favorites since these were hometown gigs and they both absolutely crushed it live. While making sure to perform the songs that helped establish what would become long careers — like “The Artist in the Ambulance” and “Deadbolt” for Thrice and “Right Side of the Bed” and “Blow” for Atreyu — both bands also busted out fresh songs. Atreyu just put out “The Moment You Find Your Flame” EP earlier this month and is expected to deliver a full length album later this year. Thrice released “Horizons/East” in 2021 and fans are still waiting for the “Horizons/West” follow up.
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