When We Were Young — Day 1 (Las Vegas Festival Grounds)
If you were anywhere near Las Vegas on October 18, 2025, you probably heard the echoes of every pop-punk anthem from the early 2000s blasting across the desert. Day one of When We Were Young Festival was a full-on nostalgia overload. The festival grounds were transformed into a scene worthy of an MTV music video with massive inflatable skulls towering over the crowd, patches of pink shag carpet underfoot, and photo-ops around every corner. Fans showed up in style: ripped black skinny jeans, vintage band tees, studded belts, fishnets, and combat boots as far as the eye could see. Some would have definitely been worthy of my MySpace Top 8. The air was heavy with nostalgia and sunscreen as thousands of fans, some reliving their teenage years, others experiencing it all for the first time, packed together under the Vegas sun to scream along, dance, and lose themselves in the best emo and pop-punk anthems in history. Below are some of the highlights from the evening sets and be sure to check out our portraits of some of the amazing artists that performed at the festival during the day.
The Offspring
The Offspring came out swinging, opening with “Come Out and Play” and “All I Want” before diving into “Bad Habit,” where a pair of giant inflatable skeletons rose up behind the band. Midway through, they brought out Guy Cohen, yes, the “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” from the original music video. It was a fun nod to their MTV heyday and by the time they closed with “The Kids Aren’t Alright” and “Self Esteem,” the Vegas crowd was all in. As the Vegas sun started to set, and the crowd was still going strong, the Offspring fed into that energy closing out their set with crowd favorites, “The Kids Aren’t Alright” and “Self Esteem.”
Weezer
Weezer had such a fun set, packed with the songs everyone came to hear. They opened with “My Name Is Jonas” and rolled through a mix of early hits and radio staples. Midway through, they brought out indie rocker Blondshell for “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams,” a fan-favorite B-side from Pinkerton that added a fun little treat to the setlist. The band closed out with “Say It Ain’t So” and “Buddy Holly” which created fun sing-along moments for everyone in attendance.
Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne’s set on Day 1 of When We Were Young leaned hard into nostalgia while still keeping it fun and live-ready. She ran through some of her biggest early hits with “Complicated” and “My Happy Ending” before dropping a major surprise: she brought out Simple Plan for their collab “Young & Dumb”. The song itself hits like a time-capsule, reminiscing about the 2002 tour bus days, black eyeliner and tank tops, while also looking ahead to where they’re at now. Honestly, it was the perfect anthem for the weekend. That special moment with Simple Plan brought plenty of cheers and it felt like the set pivoted from “throwing back” into “we’re still doing this” energy. Avril closed with “Sk8er Boi,” the song that defined a generation, and as soon as those opening chords hit, I was instantly transported back to my tie-wearing, eyeliner-smudged era of the early oughts which was a perfect full-circle moment for me.
Blink-182
Seeing Blink‑182 live for the first time with Tom DeLonge back in the mix was one of the standout moments of the weekend for me. They ripped into “The Rock Show” and “First Date,” then hit the heavier stuff like “Anthem Part Two” and “Feeling This,” with every chorus getting huge crowd reactions. On top of the music, the real fun came in the between-song banter: Tom and Mark Hoppus traded jokes and jabs like a screw-up version of Beavis and Butt-Head Tom and Mark Hoppus traded jokes and jabs like a screw-up version of Beavis and Butt-Head, keeping it loose while the stage lit up with the most insane amount of pyro I have ever seen. There was zero let-up in energy when they closed with “What’s My Age Again,” “All the Small Things” and “Dammit.” It was the kind of set you’d been waiting decades for.
Panic! at the Disco
Panic’s headlining set was more than a walk down memory lane, it was a full celebration of their origins. For the first act, the band performed their debut album, ‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,’ in its entirety to mark the album’s 20th anniversary. After that first half, they shifted gears into a second set packed with hits from albums like ‘Death of a Bachelor’ and ‘Pray for the Wicked.’ The nostalgia climaxed when original drummer Spencer Smith joined the band onstage for the closing passage of “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” a visibly emotional moment that read like a mini reunion for longtime fans as he had not performed with the band for over 10 years.
