The Starting Line Announces 'EST: 1999 Music + Stories' Tour

Philadelphia-bred rock band The Starting Line have announced EST: 1999 Music + Stories, the band's summer, fall and winter tour celebrating its 20th anniversary. Visiting a number of markets the band hasn't performed in since 2008, the upcoming run will feature full live shows with sets spanning the band's entire catalog, along with storytelling detailing the band's history and narratives behind the songs. The band will visit markets such as Los Angeles, CA on July 20, Cleveland, OH on September 13, Denver, CO on November 15, Dallas, TX on November 16 and more.

The Starting Line will also be appearing as part of the Vans Warped Tour in Atlantic City, NJ on June 30 and Mountain View, CA on July 21. Additionally, the band will be performing their yearly holiday show in Philadelphia, PA at Franklin Music Hall on December 21 as well as the newly renovated Webster Hall in New York City on December 22. Tickets for the tour go on sale at 10 a.m. local time this Friday, May 3, and more information can be found on The Starting Line's official website HERE.

The Starting Line issued the Anyways 7" on February 5, 2016 via Downtown Records, a release that marked the band's first new music since 2007. After taking a long hiatus to focus on other projects that explored different musical styles, The Starting Line was inspired to return due to the exciting new wave of punk rock coming out of the Philadelphia area. What resulted were three powerful, honest songs that recapture the spirit of this beloved band with Noisey calling the title track "an absolute banger that retains their old sensibilities without sounding at all dated."

The Starting Line's 2002 debut album, Say It Like You Mean It, earned the group a #1 on theBillboard Heatseekers Chart, sold over 300,000 copies on the indie label Drive-Thru, and spawned a surprise hit with "The Best Of Me," a pop-punk anthem that was embraced by MTV. The band followed that up with a solid year on the road, and after making a name for themselves and building their impressive fanbase through relentless touring, the group collectively decided to make the jump to major label Geffen Records for their next full-length, Based On A True Story, which was released May 10, 2005.

All did not go according to plan; despite a strong debut at #18 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, headlining the Vans Warped Tour that summer and going on to perform the biggest headlining shows of their career, the label de-prioritized the album and withheld support, choosing to not service their anthemic first single, "Bedroom Talk," to commercial radio. At what should have been the pinnacle of their career, the band begged Geffen to be released from their contract and signed to Virgin after then-president Jason Flom caught one of their live shows and was stunned at the sight of 10,000 kids singing along with the band.

The band teamed with Grammy-winning producer Howard Benson to record Direction (Virgin), which was released on July 31, 2007. On March 5, 2008, after eight years, the group announced they would take an indefinite hiatus to pursue other projects but periodically regroup to play a few shows a year in random spots around the world.

The band has performed multiple times on the Vans Warped Tour and has toured with Paramore, Fall Out Boy, The All-American Rejects, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, Sum 41, Good Charlotte and All Time Low, among many others.

The Starting Line will be making the following U.S. appearances throughout 2019. Dates below with tickets and information HERE.

JUNE
29 - Boston, MA - Royale
30 - Atlantic City, NJ - Warped Tour

JULY
20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theater
21 - Mountain View, CA - Warped Tour

SEPTEMBER
13 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theater

NOVEMBER
15 - Denver, CO - Summit
16 - Dallas, TX - Canton Hall

DECEMBER
21 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall
22 - New York, NY - Webster Hall