Production Live! To Feature Keynote Q&A With Warped Tour Founder Kevin Lyman

Kevin Lyman will take the stage at Production Live! for the keynote Q&A “Truckstops, Parking Lots & Where TF Is Catering? 30 Warped Years With Kevin Lyman.” The discussion will be moderated by Ray Waddell, Chief Content Director at Pollstar parent company Oak View Group.

Scheduled April 15 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Production Live! is the one-day companion conference to Pollstar Live! that features insightful panels and discussions from industry professionals on all topics related to putting on live events including lighting, video, concert production and more.

From his early days as a touring production professional on Lollapalooza, to founding and melting faces on the annual Vans Warped tour for over 20 years, to his resurrection of the Warped brand in 2025, Kevin Lyman has been many things to many people. Known as a rebel WITH a cause, Lyman has laid his blood, sweat and tears on the line in gravel parking lots, tour buses, and greasy truck stops from coast to coast, and has forgotten more about logistics, moving Patton’s army, and guiding young professionals through the glory and heartbreak of life on the road than many pros ever know. Promoter, producer, mentor, educator, counselor, friend, Kevin Lyman is one of the true iconoclasts of live entertainment.

In September, Lyman confirmed reports that Vans Warped Tour is set to return, which will mark the traveling festival’s 30th anniversary. Similar to the format for the 25th anniversary edition in 2019, Warped Tour will consist of three events. The festival is scheduled June 14-15 at Washington, D.C.’s The Fields At RFK Campus; July 26-27 at Long Beach, California’s Shoreline Waterfront and Nov. 15-16 at Orlando, Florida’s Camping World Stadium Campus.

Lyman told Pollstar in late 2024 that reviving Warped Tour was always in the back of his mind. But first he wanted to concentrate on teaching at USC’s Thornton School of Music and other projects, so it was “really kind of out of left field” when electronic dance music promoter Insomniac reached out with the idea to team up to celebrate Warped’s 30th anniversary.

“I’ve always respected that company … how [it’s] grown and done a lot for their community,” Lyman says of Insomniac, which is behind festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival and Electric Forest. “And enough people over there had worked on Warped Tour in the past so they really understand my philosophy on things. Maureen Valker-Barlow [SVP Partnerships at Insomniac Events] who is kind of point on the project for me, knows me really, really well and it’s been really great.”

After putting in 12 and a half years in the music business – including running a production service company that included clients Goldenvoice, Nederlander as well as many artists and independent festivals such as Lollapalooza – Lyman launched Warped Tour in 1995 in partnership with Creative Artists Agency. Since kicking off that inaugural 24-stop outing featuring Californian adrenaline-filled acts like Deftones, No Doubt and Sublime, the festival became an important vehicle for legions of artists and their teams.

The Vans Warped Tour was not only the launching pad for punk and rock bands like Paramore, A Day To Remember and Simple Plan, and helped sustain the careers of veteran acts including Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Pennywise and NOFX, but its purview grew to include hip-hop and pop stars. Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas and Ice-T appeared at Warped in 1999, Katy Perry performed there in 2008 and Demi Lovato in 2010 among others.

Lyman graced the cover of Pollstar in 2018 in honor of the final fully-fledged, cross-country Warped Tour, which wrapped in early August of that year at Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida The trek played 38 shows and grossed more than $19.4 million, with 542,908 tickets sold. The tour placed at No. 64 on Pollstar’s 2018 Year End Top 200 North American Tours and No. 99 on Pollstar‘s Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tours. In celebration of Warped Tour’s 25th anniversary, Warped Tour put on events in three cities in 2019: Cleveland; Atlantic City, New Jersey and Mountain View, California.

The spirit of artist development and community continued with the 2024 launch of the idobi Radio Summer School Tour, which Lyman co-founded with KMGMT’s Mike Kaminsky and Hopeless Records’ Eric Tobin. The pop punk and alternative rock fest announced its return for its sophomore year today featuring seven rising, independent artists and bands including Taylor Acorn, Charlotte Sands, Rain City Drive, If Not For Me, Beauty School Dropout, Arrows in Action, and Huddy. The 2025 trek has lined up more than 20 stops across the U.S., starting July 11 at The Fillmore Detroit.

READ MORE: Kevin Lyman On Warped Tour’s Return: ‘We Need To Get Young People Back Out To Festivals’

Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, will take place April 15-17 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. The three-day conference is the flagship event for Pollstar and offers engaging discussions and keynote conversations led by the top visionaries and executives in the live business along with plenty of networking opportunities.

Pollstar Live! also includes the 36th annual Pollstar Awards celebrating the live entertainment industry’s most innovative artists, venues, companies, tours and executives. Iconic artist Stevie Nicks, acclaimed international promoter Barrie Marshall, legendary promoter Louis Messina, and historic Nashville venue Ryman Auditorium will be inducted into the Pollstar Live! Music Hall of Fame during the Pollstar Awards, which takes place on April 16 at the Beverly Hilton.

Pollstar Live! 2025 is presented by Lockton and Ticketmaster.

Visit https://www.pollstar.live/ for more information and to register for Pollstar Live!