The annual idobi Radio Summer School Tour has announced a return for its much-anticipated sophomore year. Founded by Eric Tobin (Hopeless Records) Michael Kaminsky (KMGMT), and Kevin Lyman (Vans Warped Tour), and sponsored by idobi Radio and Hot Topic, the nationwide traveling tour will feature a lineup of seven independent artists and bands that are fast on the rise, including Taylor Acorn, Charlotte Sands, Rain City Drive, If Not For Me, Beauty School Dropout, Arrows in Action, and Huddy.
During its inaugural run in 2024, the idobi Radio Summer School emerged as one of the brightest new tours in the US while carrying the torch of a bygone ethos: a traveling tour focused on artist development, community, ticket affordability, and social impact. Comprised of a diverse lineup of bands and artists that alternate set times at each date, Summer School is as much an incubator for the next generation of headliners as it is an unrivaled experience for the next generation of concertgoers. “Summer School tours the country channeling the pop-punk spirit of the Warped Tour,” hailed The Los Angeles Times last year.
Kicking off July 11 in Detroit, the 2025 run will stop in nearly two dozen major cities across America this summer before a finale in Philadelphia on August 10. The tour also includes a field trip of sorts: a momentous date in partnership with Vans Warped Tour in Long Beach, CA, on July 26, where all seven Summer School bands will perform at the freshly relaunched festival.
As veterans of both the music business and the scene itself – with decades of collective experience cultivating and supporting artists from the ground level – the founder trio of Michael Kaminsky, Eric Tobin, and Kevin Lyman came together to launch Summer School last year after witnessing an industry-wide absence of concerts that truly serve emerging artists and young fans alike. In the current touring and festival landscape, these acts are often relegated to support slots where there’s no moment for them to shine, while ticket prices have soared astronomically.
“Music scenes develop when there’s an active community and culture built to support them,” says co-founder Michael Kaminsky. “There’s been a vacuum on the national level for young concertgoers to see or discover their favorite new bands and become lifelong fans. To support that fan, we’ve worked hard to make sure tickets are around $35, that all the artists, labels and promoters are independent, and that any sponsors directly contribute to the fan or artist experience.”
“Summer School’s purpose is to support the current and future alternative-music culture,” co-founder Eric Tobin continues. “It’s about championing visionary and boundary-pushing artists to be the Main Stage festival headliners of tomorrow.”
“Everyone in the industry says we need artist development, but few go out on a limb to create paths for their own acts, let alone for others as well. Rethinking the way we approach that is what Summer School is all about,” adds co-founder Kevin Lyman.