Free-spirited Vans Warped Tour gives goers a chance to meet the bands.

Every summer, fans are given the chance to go several concerts, get CDs, and talk to their favorite bands during Vans Warped Tour.

As a first timer at the famous Warped Tour events, junior Tereza Guzman didn’t expect anything special.

But after a series of events, you could say that the word "special" is an understatement.

The Vans Warped Tour is where fans of bands such as All Time Low, 30H!3 and The Maine come together to celebrate music. Since 1995, almost 100 bands tour the United States and Canada every year, performing for 30-minute sets and publicizing at tents for the rest of the day. This year several MVHS students went to the Warped Tour event at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View on August 20.

"I like how you can actually meet the bands because they walk around everywhere," sophomore Katrina Park said. "[The bands] are not that famous but you still get to meet them, and they’re really nice."

Some of the more popular bands, such as All Time Low, play on either one of the two main stages. Other bands, such as The Maine, play on the smaller stages. But there are also locally-known bands traveling with Warped Tour just for publicity. That day, Guzman saw The Maine, All Time Low, White Tie Affair, Silverstein, We The King and 30H!3. However, her most memorable moment was with a band quite unheard of.

"I met this one band from Southern California called Close but Not Quite, and I bought their CD and talked to them for a while. And I added them on Myspace and we’re still talking," Guzman said.

Guzman wasn’t the only one with a chance to getup-close and personal with the musicians. Freshman Trisha Mitra met John O’Callegan, the lead singer from The Maine. She asked O’Callegan to send her friend—a huge fan—a text message, which he did.

Long lines and the occasional pot smoker aside, Warped Tour is an experience that will keep the fans coming back to meet the band.