What started as a meme created by MODERN DAY ESCAPE bassist and songwriter William Wenz about hosting a festival in a Denny’s parking lot turned to reality as he created the When We Were Hungry festival alongside co-founder/director and artist manager Mal Levy.
The inaugural event will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, October 20 and Friday, October 21 at the 3,000-capacity venue Rockstar Bar – Concert On The Green. The festival will highlight independent-focused acts that represent a who’s-who of the past and present rock, metal, punk and emo scene. The 2022 lineup will include headlining performances from punk rock icons BLACK FLAG, legendary New York hardcore group MADBALL, emo rockers SECONDHAND SERENADE and pop punk band EVERY AVENUE plus more than 50 bands across two outdoor stages and one indoor stage over both days.
Following each day of the festival, there will be an official afterparty indoors in collaboration with Come As You Are Events with guest DJ sets and surprise performances from musicians including SOCIAL ORDER, Chris Donothon (THE MEDIC DROID),ALESANA and Michael Vampire (VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE). The afterparties will be 21+ only and ticketed separately from the festival, $25 for a single night pass or $40 for both nights. Purchase admission for either and/or both nights here.
“Through the power of the Internet, what started only as a humble meme has blossomed into such a beautiful lineup of artists both big and small,” says Wenz. “Defying even our own expectations, it has been a joy for us and the fans to watch the When We Were Hungry festival grow into a delicious piece of history!”
Levy adds, “This festival is all about bringing people together–merging amazing legacy acts with the next generation. We quite literally went from a meme to a dream, and now an epic reality that is When We Were Hungry. This is our gift to you!”
“We are excited to be returning to Las Vegas to play the When We Were Hungry festival at Rockstar Bar with UNWRITTEN LAW, THE DICKIES and so many more,” says Mike Vallely, vocalist of BLACK FLAG. “We’ll be kicking off our 2022-2023 tour at this show, and I couldn’t think of a better way to get things started.”
EVERY AVENUE lead vocalist and pianist David Strauchman comments: “It’s an honor to be invited to play the When We Were Hungry fest and share the stage with so many amazing artists. EVERY AVENUE hasn’t played a show on the West Coast since 2012, so needless to say I’m stoked to be asked to play these songs a decade later. The When We Were Hungry team has done an awesome job of bringing together a wildly diverse lineup that the fans are going to love. Can’t wait! It’s going to rock!”
HELLOGOODBYE vocalist Forrest Kline says: “When We Were Hungry has brought together a truly insane and sweeping lineup, including the first full-band HELLOGOODBYE set in Vegas in years. Cannot wait to let loose with y’all!”
“Looking at this killer lineup, we’re not only craving to play in Vegas for the first time in over a decade, but also salivating at the thought of sharing the stage with all these amazing bands,” adds the Las Vegas-based pop rock band THE HIGHER‘s guitarist Reggie Ragan. “It’s a feast fit for Vegas.”
The 2022 When We Were Hungry festival lineup (in alphabetical order) is as follows (as of August 3, 2022):
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ACROSS THE WHITE WATER TOWER
ALESANA
ALL AT ONCE
ALONG CAME A SPIDER
ANARBOR
ARTIFICIAL ALIENS
BEYOND UNBROKEN
BLACK FLAG
CLOUD CONSTRUCTION
COLLEGE RADIO
DOLL SKIN
DROPOUT KINGS
EVERY AVENUE
EYES SET TO KILL
FDS
FIGHT FROM WITHIN
HELLOGOODBYE
HOPE DIES LAST
MADBALL
MAKEOUT
MARK ROSE (SPITALFIELD)
MEST
MIGHTY VICES
MODERN DAY ESCAPE
OBSOLETE MAN
ORIGINAL A.S.D.
OSATIA
OUTSIDERS
OVTLIER
PALISADES
PICTURESQUE
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
SAVING VICE
SAYWECANFLY
SCARLETT O’HARA
SECONDHAND SERENADE
SINSHRIFT
SOCIAL ORDER
SPIRITS
THE BUNNY THE BEAR
THE DEAD RABBITTS
THE DICKIES
THE HIGHER
THE MEDIC DROID
THIRST
TICKLE ME PINK
TINY MOVING PARTS
TRUE NORTH
UNWRITTEN LAW
VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE
VIOLENT NEW BREED
VOODOO GLOW SKULLS
VRSTY
WE WERE GIANTS
Single-day tickets for When We Were Hungry festival are on sale now for $80 and weekend passes are available for $150. 18+ only. Purchase tickets and exclusive online festival merch now at www.whenwewerehungryfest.com. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a list of on-site food and merchandise vendors and charity partners.