Emo Revival Resurrects Nostalgia

Ava Rosario | Writer

Bring out the black nail polish and Pierce the Veil CDs you said goodbye to—emo’s back.

With the resurrection of My Chemical Romance, the announcement of a Warped Tour-esque festival, and a new Avril Lavigne album, it’s time to admit that the emo lifestyle is making a comeback.

Mikayla Hartley, a long-time fan of the emo genre, attributes it to the sense of belonging.

“People are a lot more accepting in the emo community,” Hartley said. “You just feel like you’re part of something.”

Though we’re seeing a rise in the classics, there’s also a push for new emo content. Notably, Machine Gun Kelly and Willow Smith released their song “Emo Girl,” seemingly attempting to parallel Avril Lavigne’s early 2000s pop-punk style.

Even the new Batman movie depicts an emo Bruce Wayne, searching for his identity with black eyeshadow, an eye-covering haircut, and Nirvana.

Then the When We Were Young Festival—heavily reflecting the Vans Warped Tour—promised a plethora of nostalgic emo-rock favorites like Sleeping with Sirens, Mayday Parade, Bring Me the Horizon, and so many more.

Following a pandemic that forced individuals to be alone, it’s no wonder people were looking for the best way to express their emotions. Emo seems to come back when people need it most.

“It’s never going to die because there is a primal energy in this music,” Justin Pierre, lead singer of Motion City Soundtrack, said in an interview with the Denver Post. “And especially in emo, there’s such a strong emotion that it’s equally rewarding to see it remerge with a new flavor for each successive generation.”