If you don’t mind crowd surfing, moshing, great loud music and horrible tan lines, than the Vans Warped Tour  should be on your to-do list this summer.

The tour is a music festival that has featured as a many as 100 bands per day. There are usually about 10 stages set up, which includes two main stages where the biggest bands usually play. Each band plays for approximately 30 minutes. It’s an all-day event starting in the morning and playing into the night. Therefore, it’s a great way to get a taste of mainstream and upcoming artist’s live shows.

The tour features an array of music genres such as: punk, rock, ska, alternative rock, reggae, hip-hop, pop and metal.

The line-up this year includes: Stephen Jerzak, The Dangerous Summer, Relient K, Of Mice and Men, Hellogoodbye, The Dance Party and many more. New bands are constantly being announced on the tour’s website.

The day is not only full of concerts, but features many other attractions such as half pipes for skaters and bikers, tents, booths and concessions. Many bands will go to their booths after a show and sign autographs.

Cassie Barrett, sophomore in psychology, attended her first Warped Tour in 2003.

“A friend and I won backstage passes to The All-American Rejects tour bus for an acoustic performance,” Barrett said. “At the time, they were my favorite band, so it’s an experience I will never forget.”

Barrett claims she has not missed a Warped Tour since, and will always remember when Tyson Ritter, The All-American Rejects lead singer, called her and her friend his “little sugar dumplings.”

Opportunities like this are not rare at Warped Tour. You will often meet people with some crazy stories about how they met their favorite bands, and there are more crazy stories to be made.

The Vans Warped Tour 2011 is coming to Illinois and Minnesota a little earlier this year, July 9 and 10, and the Wisconsin venue is scheduled July 19. Pre-sale tickets will begin selling April 1.