Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Plain White Tees

There's a particular kind of cynicism that creeps into nostalgia touring, and on June 17 at Leader Bank Pavilion, the bill split the difference in one night. Three bands, three eras of the same Warped Tour gene pool, three very different answers to the question of what it means to show up in 2026.

Plain White Tees opened with a serviceable, if forgettable, warm-up set. They've always been the band least committed to any one identity — power pop, emo, the wedding-band-for-millennials thing — and tonight leaned hard into the latter. "Hey There Delilah" landed exactly as you'd expect: phones up, crowd swaying, a faint whiff of everyone involved pretending it's still 2006. Harmless. Not inspiring.

Yellowcard played the hits — and only the hits — with the enthusiasm of a band fulfilling a contract. "Ocean Avenue" arrived on cue. "Lights and Sounds" followed. The violin soared where the violin is supposed to soar, the choruses landed where choruses are supposed to land, and the crowd sang along dutifully. But there was no risk, no spark, no sense that anyone onstage was particularly happy to be there. The between-song banter was scripted, the staging was flat, and the tempo on "Only One" felt rushed, like they were trying to shave minutes off the runtime. A subpar set masquerading as a victory lap. You can phone it in and still sound fine. You can't phone it in and feel anything.

New Found Glory, on the other hand, showed the same energy they brought 25 years ago. If anything, they played harder, faster, and with more genuine joy than bands half their age. Jordan Pundik hasn't lost a step; he was climbing monitors, working the pit, and grinning like a kid who just got handed a mic. "Hit or Miss" was a wall of feedback and gang vocals. "My Friends Over You" closed the set with the entire pavilion jumping, and they earned every bit of it — not with nostalgia, but with conviction. Where Yellowcard phoned it in, NFG showed up: sweat, grins, and breakdowns intact.

Two out of three acts brought their whole selves. One didn't. That averages out to a three — fair to the band that carried the night, generous to the headliner that didn't.