by Holly Van Ness | July 27th , 2024
All images are from Summer School Fest’s Show in Sayreville, NJ on 7/27/24.

Photo by Holly Van Ness | @Hollyvn_photography

I never made it to Warped Tour–not because I didn’t want to, but because my parents wouldn’t let me. Looking back on it, that decision was probably for the best considering I was only 17 when the tour came around for the very last time. But I was always bummed out that I missed such a staple in the pop-punk music scene. Fast forward a few years, I grew up, started catching concerts with my friends, and did my best to fill the void of Warped Tour.

Still, despite seeing plenty of bands that once started out at Warped Tour, nothing came close to the iconic festival. That is–until Summer School Fest.

Instead of just grabbing some of the most popular bands in the pop-punk scene and throwing them on a touring bill, idobi Radio partnered with a handful of record companies to put together a lineup of rising stars that resembled the noviceness that Warped Tour had.

The tour kicked off in Cleveland, Ohio, and featured emerging artists Scene Queen, Stand Atlantic, Magnolia Park, The Home Team, Honey Revenge, and Letdown on just one stage to minimize the chaos of overlapping set times. In addition to this, Summer School Fest set an intention to make tickets affordable while working exclusively with independent artists, labels, venues, and promoters. “Sponsorship money of any kind goes to paying bands reasonable rates, and maintaining the ticket pricing — $35.50, with the added $.50 going directly to Save The Music, raising funds for musical instruments and education at public schools,” Alternative Press Magazine reported.

Starland Ballroom – July 27th

I had the opportunity to catch the festival on July 27th in Sayreville, New Jersey and I was super excited to see all of the artists on the lineup–especially Honey Revenge and Scene Queen.

Letdown, a music project by Blake Coddington, opened the show with a 20 minute set. Blake has been releasing tracks for a few years now, using music as an outlet to talk about mental health. Joined by Blake was a group of extremely talented musicians who knew how to entertain the crowd without taking the focus away from Blake’s killer vocals.

Next was Honey Revenge–making this my second time seeing them live. And, as always, they put on an amazing performance. Honey Revenge members Devin Papadol and guitarist Donovan Lloyd were joined by a fantastic group of touring musicians who matched their eccentric energy.

The Home Team and Stand Atlantic performed after that and continued with the good vibes. The Home Team were joined by one of their crew members dressed in a giant bear costume and had a huge emphasis on dancing (which I absolutely did). I also saw Magnolia Park for the first time and, like the rest of the artists on the lineup, they performed with an explosion of energy.

My favorite performance for the night was Scene Queen–someone who I wanted to see live for a while now. She drew most of the crowd of the festival and throughout her entire performance, fans sang along to her music and shook the walls of Starland Ballroom. When Scene Queen went to her merch table after the set, more than half the crowd went to see her and lined up all the way down the venue wall to the end of the night.

All in all, Summer School Fest was extremely fun and entertaining. The one-stage arrangement made for a less stressful environment and the artists on the lineup were amazing and have so much potential in the pop-punk scene. I’m super excited to see where idobi Radio’s Summer School Fest goes in the next couple of years.