Pop punk and emo legends return to the forefront at inaugural All Your Friends Fest

There’s a common refrain — half earnest, half self-deprecating — in emo and pop punk communities: “It was never just a phase.” 
 “It”, of course, referring to the love for a genre often derided by outsiders as immature — music that only appeals to teenagers in the throes of hormonal-driven angst. 
The inaugural All Your Friends Fest proved that adage to be true, attracting people of all ages upon Oro-Medonte, Ont. this past weekend. 
Headlined by Billy Talent and Fall Out Boy on Aug. 23 and 24, the festival — organized by Republic Live, the company that also hosts country festival Boots and Hearts — also boasted acts such as The All-American Rejects, Silverstein and Jimmy Eat World.
Brooke Dunford, Republic Live’s director of talent planning and business development, said they were estimating roughly 10,000-15,000 attendees at the boutique festival, which also featured carnival rides, food trucks, and camping.
Dunford said in curating the lineup, the goal was to allow fans to experience artists they “grew up listening to (but) never get to see.”
“It’s almost like you’re creating your favourite playlist at home where you just sprinkle in a bunch of music that you either loved listening to or that bring back those memories that you can enjoy with your friends.”
Similar to Las Vegas’ When We Were Young Festival, which debuted in its current form in 2022, All Your Friends Fest takes advantage of the recent emo resurgence in the mainstream — which is partially carried by nostalgia. Still, nostalgia isn’t the sole factor in emo’s return to the forefront.
Shane Told, the vocalist of Burlington’s own Silverstein, said the scene continues to bring people back because it’s music that isn’t just flashy — it says something and means something to people.
“I think for some people they’re discovering this … for a million different reasons, whether it’s My Chemical Romance coming back, whether it’s all the Emo Night gigs that are happening or whether it’s just people realizing that this music is special and timeless and that it always wore its heart on its sleeve.”
“I think there might be some truth to the idea that the music is solid enough on its own merit that — the nostalgia helps it. I don’t necessarily think it’s the only thing fuelling it,” said John O’Callaghan, vocalist for The Maine. 
Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World noted that people who listen to guitar-driven rock bands need to seek that type of music out because it’s often not on the top charts.

For many fans, it’s the opportunity to see bands that were integral to their youth.
Caitlin Galipeau, visiting from Ottawa, said that while she grew up listening to bands like The Maine and Fall Out Boy, her love has persisted well into adulthood because emo music is a source of community for her.
“I grew up coming to Warped Tour when it came to Toronto every year, and I was deeply heartbroken when it ended,” Galipeau said. “I jumped at the chance to come because it was the perfect balance of nostalgia, reliving my youth a little bit, but it also gave me the opportunity to see some new artists that I started listening to recently .” 
Angela Fonti, who travelled from Florida with her husband, said she was most excited to see Fall Out Boy, and agreed that the festival reminded her of going to Warped Tour when she was younger, but that nostalgia was only one part of the equation.
“It’s both nostalgia and the newness of it, the fact that there hasn’t really been a festival or anything like this for so long, it just brings back good memories, but also creates new ones,” Fonti said.
The festival also made a point to uplift Canadian artists — both new and old. 
“We are such a unique Canadian venue and we pride ourselves on being Canada’s largest outdoor venue with camping, we want to make sure that that allows for artists to get on stage and be a part of our music journey. So it was special because we want to give Canadian bands a stage to grow and to give back to Canadian fans and, and support the Canadian music industry,” Dunford said.
Suckerpunch, an up and coming Montreal band, recognized that they are among legends, many of whom inspired them to pick up their own instruments.
“It’s the scene that we grew up in … It just felt right for us to be there. We’re happy that they got us here also but like, I mean, we probably would have just came here as fans also,” vocalist Fred Thuot said.
Full Throttle, from London, Ont., said playing the festival felt surreal. “All these bands we’ve been listening to since we were little kids, and it’s just crazy to be able to share the stage with them,” Max McGill, the band’s vocalist, said.
Stereos, a pop band from Alberta, aren’t the newest kids on the block, having released the smash hit “Summer Girl” in 2009, but they still said that being on the roster felt like making it big. 

The scene is very tight-knit so many bands on the roster are fans of one another, and are also invested in uplifting newer artists. 
Told reminisced about reuniting with Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes, who they toured with in 2005. Adkins noted that he and his bandmates were looking forward to watching other artists perform — something they have less of an opportunity to do when they tour on their own. 
Thierry Martineau, Suckerpunch’s guitarist, even spilled that they have an upcoming collaboration with Travis Clark from We The Kings and that Clark had taken time out of his weekend to help them shoot social media content for it.

Dunford is hoping that if the right lineup can be put together, the festival won’t just be a one-off. She noted that she was pleasantly surprised by how willing fans were to watch every single act — not just the ones they grew up with or were already fans of. 
“It’s just been wild because the fans come at the start of the day and it’s been really special to see them see every band. They really come as soon as gates open, so that’s been the fun part,” she said.
Galipeau said that if the festival keeps delivering killer lineups she’ll keep making the trip back. 
“I think they’re doing a really good job of running this festival and if they keep bringing great lineups like this, I don’t see why I wouldn’t come back.”