Kevin Lyman on making Warped Tour the entry point for a new generation of festivalgoers

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Set us as preferred Kevin Lyman has always lived life on the move.For years it was a symptom of working to keep up with Warped Tour, a punk rock circus on wheels.

Since bringing the festival back last year to celebrate its 30-year anniversary, he’s switched his mode of transport from buses to planes.What started as a two-month tour across the U.S.

and parts of Canada is now a strategically placed, five-date extravaganza starting this weekend in Long Beach.With stops in Montreal, Mexico City, Orlando and Washington, the tour has gotten bigger with the partnership of EDM promoter Insomniac but Lyman insists that the soul of it remains the same.Thriving on a mix of punk, emo, ska, hardcore, metal and action sports, Warped has become an entry point to festival culture for a new generation of fans, requiring Lyman to always move forward in his musical tastes while still trying to stay true to the essence of what made Warped more of a community than just an annual event.

Recently he chatted with The Times to discuss the process of continuing the fest’s revival and why it’s still a vital part of the summer festival ecosystem.What were your initial thoughts after Warped Tour’s big comeback in Long Beach last year?I was really nervous.

To be honest, I knew I had one shot at getting it right.I knew there were going to be bigger stages, we were going to have video and lights, but I also knew that I had to make it feel like Warped Tour between the performances.

So that little bit of controlled chaos we had between the stages — the merch tents, all the sponsorship booths, the skate ramps, the surprises we threw out each day — I think it was mission accomplished.The feedback overall has been fantastic from the fans.

For some people closer to my age demo, maybe it was a little too much — their feet hurt.But Warped came...