A Farewell To Yellowcard Playlist

19 years, 10 albums, and a countless number of festival and tour dates later, it’s time for Yellowcard to write the end of their last chapter as a band. Earlier this year, they announced they would be releasing a self-titled album, Yellowcard, in September. Only a day after the first single off Yellowcard was released, the band announced that this was the beginning of their goodbye. With an album set to be released and a final world tour on the calendar—hitting cities in the U.S., Europe, the U.K., and Australia—the band wanted to say thank you and goodnight once more to their loyal fans, ending the announcement on their website, “Please come and join us on our last trip around the globe. We hope to share this final record and tour with each and every one of you.”

Yellowcard has been at it for a long time. Even as the industry has changed and grown over the years, they’ve been a quintessential part of the pop-punk scene. They’re what come to mind when I think of California, summer love, and crowd surfing. They’ve been a staple band on Warped Tour—and in what felt like a magical opportunity, I managed to see them on their last ever Warped Tour this past summer—which meant a lot to me, as I’ve listened to their music to get through life changes, summer heartbreak, and moments that needed the silence filled. The Yellowcard-live-at-Warped atmosphere is unlike any other. I will never forget who I was standing next to as I screamed the lyrics of “Ocean Avenue” with him right back at the band.

I feel confident in saying that the pop-punk scene will really miss these guys, but it wouldn’t be what it is today without them. And I think that’s what counts the most. With so many albums and singles to their name, it’s practically impossible to decide what qualifies as “the best” of Yellowcard. Upon the release of Yellowcard this past Friday, I felt that the very least I could do would be pick some favorite tracks from over the years and make a playlist for those days when I’m missing the band that gave me so much—and I’m just one person. I can guarantee the guys in Yellowcard gave something to a lot of people. I hope that this playlist will reach them too.

No band will measure up. No electric violin solo will be quite as iconic or make me feel quite as alive. No pop-punk story will come close to the one Yellowcard has written for themselves. They’re the only one.