One band really wants to play the When We Were Young Festival. They want to play it so badly, in fact, that they’ve resorted to buying a domain name related to the fest and holding it hostage until they’re on the official lineup!
It all began on Tuesday (Jan. 18) when the festival was unveiled and emo fans rejoiced at the lineup, which is headlined by Paramore and My Chemical Romance.
However, the members of alternative band I Set My Friends On Fire weren’t too stoked when they realized they weren’t invited to perform.
Shortly after the lineup was announced, the band wrote on their official Facebook page, “LIVENATION ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!”
In a subsequent comment, they continued, “FINE. SEE YOU AT THE PARKING LOT STAGE,” referring to Vans Warped Tour festivals of yesteryear when bands would promote themselves outside the official festival grounds — a.k.a. the glory days.
The band then launched a social media campaign to convince the festival to let them perform, even haggling over the talent booking fee.
“WHATEVER YOU GUYS ARE PAYING MCR, WE’LL DO IT FOR HALF,” the band wrote in another comment. “WE ARE GOING TO MEME OURSELVES ONTO THIS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.”
The band also Photoshopped the official festival poster to include their band name at the top as the headliners.
Getting impatient, they then took matters into their own hands.
An hour after sharing their initial Facebook post, the band purchased the domain for www.WhenWeWereYoungFest.com, which currently routes to the I Set My Friends On Fire’s official Facebook page.
“LIVENATION YOU CAN HAVE IT BACK IF U JUST PUT US ON THE FEST…OH AND WE OWN THE INSTAGRAM TOO,” I Set My Friends On Fire added in a Facebook coment.
Though the official festival website’s URL is actually www.WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com, the two website URLs are just similar enough to confuse some fans — and even other music acts. The Maine, who are officially on the festival’s lineup, accidentally tweeted I Set My Friends On Fire’s misleading URL.
I Set My Friends On Fire are currently gearing up for their headlining American tour that launches later this month.
Tickets for When We Were Young Festival go on sale Friday (Jan. 21).
As for I Set My Friends On Fire, we’ll have to wait and see if Live Nation invites them to the lineup or if they end up staging a parking lot show at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds this October.