Kevin Lyman is an entrepreneur and educator best known as the founder and longtime producer of the Vans Warped Tour, one of the longest-running music festivals in North America.
After college, Lyman worked as a stage manager at venues like Fender’s Ballroom in Long Beach. Then in the early ’90s became a stage manager for the original Lollapalooza tour. He also was a production manager for Goldenvoice for a while.
In 1995, seeing an opportunity celebrating the similarities of punk, pop punk, and skateboard culture, Lyman launched the Vans Warped Tour.
The first Warped was a 24-date tour with no traditional headliners, skate ramps, and a “punk rock summer camp” spirit. The road show ran annually from 1995 to 2018 (with a 2019 finale), satisfying 750,000 fans per summer.
read more at: Setlist.fm
