It's time to dust off the old gel bracelets and studded Hot Topic hoodies of yore because the aughts are back, baby. The epic lineup for the 2022 When We Were Young Festival was announced on Instagram earlier this month, and it's full of all the biggest emo and pop-punk names from the Warped Tour days, including Bright Eyes, My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, and many others. The festival poster looks like something a teenager from 2004 would have drawn in their diary while hiding from the Abercrombie preps during recess. The lineup is so insane that conspiracy theories about the festival are spreading on TikTok, and many are speculating whether the festival is a scam. Some have dubbed the event "Emo Fyre Festival" and are making comparisons to Astroworld.
But not everyone is suspicious. Most millennials are fully indulging in the nostalgia trap and are expressing their feelings through memes. And if there is a catch, it's the $225 general admission price tag. As epic as that lineup looks, I'll probably just binge-watch the music videos from the comfort of my bed. Maybe I'll put on some eyeliner for the occasion.
We've collected all the best When We Were Young Festival memes for all the millennials out there who still have Bright Eyes on their iPod minis.