For many millennials, it’s the hottest concert tour of the summer, but you won’t find tickets or ticket hubs like StubHub or Ticketmaster. The All-American Rejects are going back to their roots, playing impromptu backyard house parties with addresses and RSVPs shared at the last minute. And in true rebellious fashion, they’re flipping off the ticket industry’s outrageous fees and reseller markups while reigniting the raw, unfiltered energy of ’90s garage rock.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, lead singer and bassist Tyson Ritter shared that while the band was playing for industry professionals in Los Angeles last month, they felt a disconnect between the audience and the heart of their music. “We were like, ‘Man, this is what everybody does, and I fucking hate that this is what everybody feels obligated to do,’” he explained.

The next night, The All-American Rejects ditched the corporate scene and played a free show at the University of Southern California as part of an event hosted by the local radio station. The energy was electric, with crowds moshing and fans screaming lyrics to classics like the 2005 hits “Dirty Little Secret” and “Gives You Hell,” as the band fed off the chaos.

“It was feral, alive, and vibrant,” Ritter said. That impromptu gig sparked what’s now one of the most in-demand tours of the summer, drawing college-age Gen Z’ers and nostalgic millennials alike.

A quick TikTok or Instagram search of “rock bands” floods feeds with clips of The All-American Rejects tearing up frat house lawns, bowling alleys, cornfields, and backyards, a drastic change from the sterile, overpriced arena shows dominating today’s live music scene. The band’s DIY House Party Tour, which kicked off in early May, has become a social media sensation, with fans flooding their DMs to nominate the next stop.

Ritter isn’t shy about calling out the broken concert economy. “We took $50,000 out of our own pockets, booked a bus, put the crew salary on, and started this wild sort of ride,” he says. “I recently read something about people financing festival tickets, the complete inaccessibility of the concert experience in 2025, and how it’s juxtaposed against these wild and weird economic times. It blows my mind that our shows can still work.”

And work they do. The tour is a throwback to the ’90s, when seeing your favorite band wasn’t a luxury reserved for those in big cities or with deep pockets. It was about the music, showing up, sweating it out in a packed crowd, getting lost in the music, rocking out, and feeling like you were part of something real.

The All-American Rejects are bringing that ethos back, proving you don’t need a corporate promoter or a $300 ticket to create magic.

The tour was prompted in part by the release of “Sandbox,” the band’s first new song in over a decade. The tour fits neatly and is a fitting anthem for their back-to-basics rebellion. And while they’re playing the hits that defined a generation, the shows feel fresh, authentic (because they are), urgent, and alive. Online, the spirit of Rock and Roll is palpable. Videos of fans clambering on house rooftops to cheer them on while FOMO runs rampant on local social media pages among fans who didn’t get the memo.

For fans who grew up on The All-American Rejects, it’s a full-circle moment. For new listeners, it’s a crash course in what live music used to be—and what it could be again. Their shows have brought a freshness to the music scene that hasn’t been felt in today’s AI, tech-driven world. There are no algorithms, no dynamic pricing, no VIP upcharges, or online crashouts by fans who weren't able to score a ticket. Instead, the house tours are nothing more than just a great band, an anticipatory crowd, and the kind of chaos that reminds you why you fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll in the first place.