El Paso Got To Enjoy Vans Warped Tour Before Las Cruces Did

Think back to summertime...for El Paso & Las Cruces, it was the perfect time to enjoy music festivals that were happening. And it would be an even bigger deal when the Vans Warped Tour would announce the tour dates & you would see "Las Cruces' on the bill.

We know for a long time, Las Cruces was a main stay for the Vans Warped Tour (with the first appearance happening 20 years ago).

When did Vans Warped Tour come to El Paso?

But before Las Cruces, El Paso WAS a stop for the Warped Tour. And it happened even earlier than the first LC appearance. It happened August 6th, 2000 at the El Paso County Coliseum.

It was the final stop of the 2000 Tour, with a total of nearly 30 different artists on the bill. Some of the big names included NOFX, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Anti-Flag, Flogging Molly, Less Than Jake, Save Ferris, Unwritten Law & The Ataris.

Unfortunately many big names like Green Day, No Doubt, The Black Eyed Peas or Papa Roach would NOT make an appearance despite performing on earlier dates of the tour. However many of those bands WOULD return to El Paso as time went on so it's ok.

Sadly there's currently no footage & hardly any photos of Vans Warped Tour in El Paso. But judging how most of the shows are usually outside, it may have looked like how the San Antonio show looked like, which happened the day earlier.

However someone DID post an image of Dicky Barrett from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones & Jeremy Patton of Megalith Records onto the History of L.A. Ska Facebook group.

Sadly that was the only time Warped Tour came to the Sun City. Obviously with Vans Warped Tour ending in 2019, it's highly unlikely they will return to El Paso (or Las Cruces). However... it's nice to know that not only did they make El Paso a stop in the first place.

I'm sure for those who DID go, they got one hell of a show. Hopefully we'll see more photos & videos of the show in the future so we can relive the memories.

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EDIT: This story was originally published on February, 2 2023