All Time Low's Alex Gaskarth Talks Touring During COVID, More

ASBURY PARK, NJ – One of the most popular pop punk bands today, All Time Low, is headlining the Sad Summer Festival, which is coming to the Stone Pony Summerstage on Friday, Sept. 3, along with The Maine and The Story So Far.

For All Time Low’s lead singer and guitarist Alex Gaskarth, being back on tour is something that not only his band needed but the entire music industry needed as a whole after basically being put on ice for the better part of a year.

“It feels absolutely great to be back out on tour,” Gaskarth said to Patch. “Touring has been the lifeblood of our band.”

More and more concert tours and venues are adding new regulations in the wake of COVID, whether it’s masks or the requirement of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. The Sad Summer Festival is one of those tours requiring either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test no later than three days before the show.

Gaskarth feels that the new type of restrictions will help keep the live music scene going, even in the midst of the delta variant of COVID-19 sweeping through the country.

“Everyone in the band is vaccinated, and we are taking all the precautions we can,” Gaskarth said. “It’s tricky to negative sometimes, but if these parameters are going to allow us to tour, then I’m all for it."

All Time Low is close to celebrating 20 years as a band and has seen its fanbase grow over the past few years, thanks to appearances on shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Ellen” and “Good Morning America,” along with being the subject of a viral TikTok trend.

For Gaskarth, he feels that the band’s longevity and lasting popularity with its fan can be chalked up to two things, nostalgia and the resonating feeling that people get when they listen to songs like “Dear Maria, Count Me In.”

“It’s very cyclical,” Gaskarth said, “The first generation of fans are feeling nostalgic, and the new generation of fans are looking for an identity.”

The Sad Summer Festival featuring All Time Low will be at the Stone Pony Summer Stage on Friday, Sept. 3, with doors opening at 2 p.m. Tickets and information can be found on the Stone Pony Summer Stage website.