Sad Summer Festival

What Sad Summer Festival does

Sad Summer Festival is a privately held, US-based touring music festival founded in 2020 and operated by a lean team of approximately six employees. Its sole product is an annual multi-city emo, pop-punk, and alternative rock festival that, in its 2024 edition (the fifth), toured 22+ US cities between July and August, anchored by recurring headliners such as Mayday Parade, The Maine, The Wonder Years, We The Kings, Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, and Daisy Grenade.

The festival distributes through two ticket tiers, General Admission and a city-specific VIP Funhouse product offering priority viewing, private bars (21+), commemorative laminates, and early entry, with all tickets sold direct-to-consumer via the official website (sadsummerfest.com). A parallel merchandise line (tees, hoodies, masks) is sold year-round through an external e-commerce partner (justmer.ch). The festival is presented by retail sponsors Journeys and Converse and operates a curated nonprofit partnership platform covering voter engagement (HeadCount), environmental action (Reverb), mental health (Sound Mind), safer spaces (Calling All Crows, Our Music My Body), LGBTQ+ causes (The Ally Coalition), and health awareness (Punk Rock Saves Lives, Keep A Breast). There is no proprietary technology platform; operations rely on standard website ticketing, email, organic social, and artist cross-promotion.

Name

Sad Summer Festival

Legal name

Sad Summer Festival

Website

https://sadsummerfest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sad Summer Festival is a privately held, US-based annual touring emo and pop-punk music festival, founded in 2020 and now in its fifth year, operating 22+ dates per summer for music fans across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festival Events

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Live music festival
• Concert tour
• Festival ticketing
• Pop-punk events
• Festival merchandise

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The primary revenue stream comes from selling tickets to festival dates across multiple cities. Tickets are offered in two tiers: General Admission (GA) and VIP Funhouse Tickets, with VIP offerings varying by city.
2. Merchandise Sales: The festival sells official merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, and masks through their online store (justmer.ch).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sad Summer Festival is an annual touring emo/pop-punk and alternative rock music festival in its fifth year (2024), operating across more than 22 U.S. cities during summer months. It sells General Admission and VIP Funhouse Tickets directly to fans, and operates an official merchandise store offering apparel such as t-shirts, hoodies, and masks.

Product overview

Sad Summer Festival is a single live event product — an annual touring music festival (emo/pop-punk genre) in its 5th year in 2024. The company offers two ticket tiers: General Admission (standard entry) and VIP Funhouse Tickets (premium experience with exclusive laminates, VIP areas, private bars, and priority access). Merchandise is sold through a separate online store (JustMer) and includes apparel items like tees, masks, and hoodies. The festival partners with various venues across the US for accessibility-compliant show dates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VIP Funhouse Tickets Premium ticket tier offering exclusive perks such as priority viewing, private VIP area with bar (21+), private bathrooms, commemorative SSF VIP laminate and lanyard, VIP first entry, and first access to tour merchandise. Offerings vary by city and are targeted at fans seeking an enhanced festival experience.
• General Admission Tickets Standard entry tickets granting access to Sad Summer Festival shows across the multi-city U.S. summer tour. Targeted at all-ages music fans interested in emo, pop-punk, and alternative rock performances.
• Official Sad Summer Merch Store Online merchandise storefront offering festival-branded apparel items including t-shirts, hoodies, and masks. Targeted at Sad Summer Festival attendees and fans of the emo/pop-punk scene.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• HeadCountmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses music to register voters and promote participation in democracy. With the 2024 presidential election year, HeadCount helps fans ensure they are registered to vote at Sad Summer Fest.
• JourneyscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerJourneys is a presenting sponsor of Sad Summer Festival. As a major retail sponsor, Journeys provides marketing support, promotional presence at shows, and cross-promotional opportunities through their retail network.
• ConversecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerConverse is a presenting sponsor of Sad Summer Festival, providing marketing support and brand partnership for the touring festival.
• ReverbcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSad Summer Fest partners with REVERB, a 501c3 nonprofit, to lessen the environmental impact of the tour. REVERB unites music fans around environmental and social issues, empowering individuals to take action for people and the planet.
• Calling All CrowsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalling All Crows is dedicated to creating a more feminist and just music industry. Sad Summer Fest staff and crew undergo safer spaces training with Calling All Crows to ensure shows are safer spaces for all attendees.
• Sound MindmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSound Mind Live brings together musicians, music lovers, and organizations to foster community and open dialogue around mental health through the power of music. They provide on-site and digital mental health resources in partnership with artist tours.
• Punk Rock Saves LivesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPunk Rock Saves Lives focuses on wellness and equality, with projects including bone marrow registry swabbing, harm reduction supply education, and mental health resources. Present on tour throughout the summer.
• The Ally CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Ally Coalition (TAC) uses music to mobilize fans to fight LGBTQ discrimination, provide critical support for LGBTQ youth organizations, and raise awareness about systemic inequalities facing the LGBTQ population.
• Keep A BreastminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKeep A Breast is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to reduce breast cancer risk and its impact globally through art, education, prevention, and action. Present at some shows this summer and working with tour artists.
• Our Music My BodyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe anti-harassment rules of Sad Summer Fest are brought in partnership with Our Music My Body, an organization dedicated to creating safer spaces at concerts and music events.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Live Nation Touring: The world's largest live entertainment promoter and operator of most of the amphitheaters Sad Summer rents (PNC Bank Arts Center, Leader Bank Pavilion, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, etc.). It is both a venue supplier and a broader competitor in festival programming.
• Summerfest: A large-scale, multi-genre summer music festival. It competes for the same summer festival ticket wallet among US consumers, even though its lineup breadth differs from Sad Summer's emo/pop-punk focus.
• AEG Presents: A major live entertainment promoter and venue operator. Competes indirectly with Sad Summer for emo/pop-punk headliner routing and amphitheater date allocations in the same US markets.

Direct peers

• Self Help Fest: A pop-punk/emo-flavored touring festival that shares the same core audience and community-values nonprofit alignment (mental health, harm reduction) as Sad Summer.
• Vans Warped Tour (relaunched): The relaunched Warped Tour is the historical flagship pop-punk/punk touring festival. It directly overlaps Sad Summer in target genre, fan demographic, and touring festival format.
• The Bamboozle: Reloaded emo/pop-punk festival historically based in New Jersey. It competes with Sad Summer in the emo/pop-punk nostalgia touring space and overlaps in geographic markets like the Northeast US.
• Riot Fest: An annual Chicago-based punk, pop-punk, and alternative rock festival. It targets a closely overlapping fan base and competes for the same touring emo/punk acts and summer/fall festival ticket dollars as Sad Summer.
• 8123 Fest: A music festival created by The Maine (a Sad Summer recurring headliner). It shares the emo/alternative rock target audience, artist crossover, and community-led ethos, making it a tightly comparable niche peer.
• When We Were Young Festival: A Las Vegas-based emo/pop-punk nostalgia festival featuring many of the same headliner-era bands as Sad Summer (e.g., My Chemical Romance, Paramore). It is the closest direct competitor for the same emo/pop-punk fan demographic and headliner booking pool.

Emerging players

• Emo Nite: A branded emo-themed club/event series with a national footprint. Smaller scale than Sad Summer, but it addresses the same emo fan community through live events and merchandise.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sad-summer-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sad Summer Festival