Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman is taking a different approach to help teenagers score concert tickets.
Lyman has created an opioid prevention app, FEND (Full Energy, No Drugs), and through a partnership with the state of Rhode Island and local promoters, users of the app can get free passes to shows around the state. According to Billboard, FEND received a grant from the state of Rhode Island. Users who complete an educational program in the FEND app before the end of September are eligible to receive some cool rewards which include FEND merchandise, vinyl bundles, and free tickets to a handful of shows.
In an attempt to entice teens and young adults to participate in the educational program and learn about the effects of opioid use, three promoters – Live Nation, Bowery Presents, and Mass Concerts – have donated tickets for upcoming shows. Those who complete the program will have the chance to see artists like Maggie Rogers, Sum 41, Of Monsters and Men, Meek Mill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Tyler, The Creator, among others. The first participating show is Pinegrove’s September 4 gig in Boston. Fans can also score tickets to see Bastille, Grace Vanderwaal, and PVRIS.
The Kevin Lyman Group launched FEND with the Preventum Initiative and Australian tech company iPug last year. Organizers hope that the app can raise awareness about opioid use in the U.S. – something that has killed more than 70,000 people just in 2017 – by targeting a specific age group through gamification, music, and streetwear. The app teaches users why opioids are so addictive and how to recognize or respond to an overdose.
Members of the FEND movement attended each date of the final Vans Warped Tour last year to spread awareness about the organization and app.
“The stats are pretty scary,” FEND organizers said in a statement to Music Mayhem. “Over the past four years, the misuse of opioids by 15-19 year olds has dramatically increased, sadly, so too have drug overdose deaths. Most of these overdose deaths are accidental, and over half are caused by prescription painkillers (opioids). Opioids are also a known gateway drug to heroin. Join the movement – let’s reverse the stats, and make a stand against opioids together.”
The FEND app is available via the Apple store and on Google Play. Visit wearefend.org for more info.