Festival/Tour: Vans Warped Tour
Date/Location: July 30, Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH (Other dates below)
Tickets/Details: http://www.ticketmaster.com/Riverbend-Music-Center-tickets-Cincinnati/venue/180337, http://www.vanswarpedtour.com

Headliners: Bring Me The Horizon, Chiodos, Hawthorne Heights, Motion City Soundtrack, Silverstein, The Used, The Wonder Years, etc.
Why we’re excited to go: Summer’s travelling musical summer camp is back for the 19th year, and every year I wonder if I’m getting too old for this.  In 2012 (at age 35), I wondered how many of my fellow concert goers would wonder if I was somebody’s dad, taken for the purpose of making sure my kids wouldn’t be too corrupted by the sound and spectacle happening at one of over half-a-dozen to a dozen stages. After a review of my high school classes’ Facebook page, and the discovery that one of my peers already has FOUR grandkids, I now have to worry that I’ll be mistaken for somebody’s granpappy.
My own insecurities about the age-appropriateness of my attendance aside, this will be my umpteenth year covering the tour (the first being before I could legally purchase alcohol), and if previous years are any indication, I’m likely find an ear-pleasing combination of emo, indie, punk, hardcore, and hip hop up-and-comers.  Below are a few of my top picks for this year’s festivities: 
Allison Weiss
The singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, first caught our ear with her Say What You Mean LP for No Sleep.  She will perform her light-hearted, pop-centric gems at the Acoustic Basement stage.
http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2013/from-the-horses-mouth-allison-weiss-on-say-what-you-mean/
Citizen
Their LP Youth, hit the streets in June via Run For Cover Records and we’re predicting a ground breaking year for the band.  If anthemic, fist pumping rock is your forte, missing these guys on the Kevin Says stage would be a travesty. 
http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2012/bands-on-bands-mat-kerekes-citizen-on-new-found-glorys-sticks-and-stones/
http://www.youindie.com/?s=citizen&paged=2
Hawthorne Heights
After years of riding the rock and roll rollercoaster, the quintet from Dayton seems to be back in an upward trajectory. Rolling with the considerable punches and pitfalls they’ve encountered seems only to have sharpened the band’s resolve, and the result is their latest, Zero (released on June 25), the band’s most ambitious record to date.  Catch them at the Kia Forte stage.
http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/holding-on-to-hope/
Man Overboard
New Jersey punks Man Overboard released their latest LP, Heart Attack, via Rise Records/Lost Tape Collective, earlier this year.  And it’s a banger for pop-punk diehards who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves and sing until their throats are raw.  They’ll likely be at the Kia Soul of Forte stage. 

http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2013/from-the-horses-mouth-wayne-wildrick-man-overboard-on-the-bands-forthcoming-album/
Motion City Soundtrack
These Minnesota-based Vans Warped Tour veterans are set to make their first appearance on the tour in three years.  Since the release of their debut LP, I Am The Movie, more than ten years ago, Motion City Soundtrack has been one of the most fun, engaging, and consistent bands in the indie/emo sphere.
And Jesse Johnson’s signature Moog hand stands are not to be missed.  They’ll be heating up the Kia Forte stage. 
Also planning on seeing:
Five Knives (http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2013/remix-premiere-five-knives-vive-le-roi-big-chocolate-remix/)
Mixtapes (http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2012/interview-ryan-rockwell-of-mixtapes/)
New Beat Fund (http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2013/bands-on-bands-bernie-baker-new-beat-fund-on-red-hot-chili-peppers-blood-sugar-sex-magik/)
The Story So Far
The Wonder Years
(Here are the remaining U.S. and international dates for the tour:

July 30, 2013	Cincinnati, Ohio	Riverbend Music Center
July 31, 2013	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Marcus Amphitheater
August 2, 2013	Dallas, Texas	Gexa Energy Pavilion
August 3, 2013	San Antonio, Texas	AT&T Center
August 4, 2013	Houston, Texas	Reliant Center Parking Lot
November 9, 2013	Berlin	Germany	Berlin Arena
November 10, 2013	Eindhoven	Netherlands	Klokgebouw
November 16, 2013	London, England	United Kingdom	Alexandra Palace
November 17, 2013
November 23, 2013	Bern	Switzerland	BEA Festhalle
November 24, 2013	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle
November 29, 2013	Brisbane, Queensland	Australia	RNA Showgrounds
November 30, 2013	Coffs Harbour, New South Wales		Coffs Harbour Showgrounds
December 1, 2013	Sydney, New South Wales		Barangaroo
December 6, 2013	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory		Exhibition Park
December 7, 2013	Melbourne, Victoria		TBA
December 8, 2013	Adelaide, South Australia)