Kia-Sponsored Main Stages to Showcase Fan Favorites and Today’s Hottest Up-and-Comers

IRVINE, Calif., June 11, 2013 – For the sixth year in a row, Kia Motors America (KMA) is touring the country as the “Official Vehicle of the Vans Warped Tour^®”alongside some of today’s most entertaining rock and indie bands.  Concertgoers in 39 U.S. cities will be able to enjoy live music performances and visit the Kia Soul Lounge to participate in a variety of interactive experiences in the spirit of this year’s Kia theme, “Rock and Roll. Punk and Soul.”  Kia will be the official sponsor of the tour’s two main stages – the Kia Soul Stage and Kia Forte Stage – for the second year in a row, and an exclusive Kia VIP riser will allow select concertgoers to stand above the crowd and enjoy their favorite bands from an elevated, shaded platform.

“Music, pop culture and having fun drive today’s youth culture, and the 2013 Vans Warped Tour couldn’t be a better embodiment of those core, coming-of-age lifestyle elements,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president, marketing & communications, KMA.  “Our partnership with the tour allows us to showcase the all-new Kia Soul and Forte, which have always relied on youthful spirit as a cornerstone of their appeal.  We’re excited to continue connecting with the young and passionate fans around the country through yet another summer of great music and fun.”

This year, concertgoers will be able to enjoy hours of live music, including exclusive acoustic sets with tour headliners “We Came As Romans” and “Sleeping With Sirens” in select concert locations.  Fans also can visit the Kia Soul Lounge, an interactive tent featuring a DJ, daily band autograph sessions, “Show Your Punk” body painting and hair styling stations, and a “Rock and Roll” photo booth where concertgoers can scream and rock out to their heart’s desire.  An interactive app will register participants via Twitter and Facebook, and each photo will be made into an animated image that can be shared via the participant’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. 

“It is only with the continued support of people like Kia that the Vans Warped Tour is able to offer such a value to the fans,” said Kevin Lyman, founder and producer, Vans Warped Tour®.  “Warped is the lowest-priced ticket in town for the amount of show it brings the audience.”

Visitors to the lounge also can view and learn more about the all-new 2014 Soul¹, which boasts more passenger and cargo room than ever before along with a new, more aggressive appearance.  Also on display will be the all-new 2014 Forte 5-door², which offers more room, fun-to-drive performance and  cutting-edge technology.

Festival participants will be encouraged to “Share their Soul” through an interactive photo sharing game in which concert attendees are tasked with capturing their favorite moments of The Vans Warped Tour® in real time based on the tagline “Rock and Roll. Punk and Soul.”  Concertgoers are turned into roving reporters, snapping pictures of people rocking out, pretending to drive Kia vehicles and anything else they feel captures the Vans Warped Tour® experience.  Concertgoers also have the unique opportunity to receive Kia VIP passes, which allow them access to an exclusive private riser near the main stage, or in some cases, on the two main stages themselves, where they can enjoy spectacular views of the day’s biggest performances.

The Vans Warped Tour® kicks off on June 15 in Seattle, and will feature more than 125 rock, hip-hop, rap, metal, indie rock and electronic artists, including current chart-toppers and the hottest up-and-comers.

Select tour dates and destinations of the tour include:

• 6/15 – Seattle
• 6/16 – Portland
• 6/19 – San Diego
• 6/20 & 6/21 – Pomona, CA
• 6/27 – Phoenix
• 6/28 – Los Vegas
• 7/10 – Washington DC
• 7/11 – Boston
• 7/13 – New York
• 7/19 – Detroit
• 7/20 – Chicago
• 7/28 – Orlando
• 8/2 – Dallas

For more information on the Vans Warped Tour, including a full list of tour dates³ and any updates to the tour schedule, visit vanswarpedtour.com.

About Forte
The all-new 2014 Forte 5-door boasts eye-catching European design, a longer, wider stance and Kia’s long list of premium amenities and features not normally found in the segment.  Introduced at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, the Forte 5-door SX features a 1.6 liter gasoline direct-injected (GDI) turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which puts out 201 horsepower and 195 lb.-ft. of torque, making the all-new Forte 5-door SX the most powerful Forte ever from Kia Motors America.  Buyers can also choose the EX trim level, which features a 2.0-liter GDI four-cylinder engine.

About Soul
Unveiled at the 2014 New York Auto Show, the all-new Soul Urban Passenger Vehicle remains instantly recognizable as Kia Motors’ most iconic people mover, yet boasts a fresh new design that bears more than a passing resemblance to the hot Track’ster concept that was introduced last year.  The 2014 Soul features a new chassis that is stiffer, longer and wider and offers more passenger and cargo room while helping to reduce NVH levels.  Increased torque and significant suspension upgrades help make the 2014 Soul a nimble and agile companion in urban environments, and customers can choose from three unique trim levels to reflect their own fierce individualism.

Kia:  One of the World’s Fastest Moving Global Automotive Brands
Kia Motors America is one of only three auto brands to increase U.S. sales in each of the past four years, and in 2012 the company surpassed the 500,000 unit mark for the first time.  With a full line of fun-to-drive cars and CUVs, Kia is advancing value to new levels of sophistication by combining European-influenced styling – under the guidance of chief design officer Peter Schreyer – with cutting-edge technologies, premium amenities, affordable pricing and the lowest cost of ownership in the industry. 

Kia recently joined the exclusive ranks of Interbrand’s “Top 100 Best Global Brands,” and is poised to continue its momentum with seven all-new or significantly redesigned vehicles scheduled to arrive in showrooms in 2013.  Over the past decade Kia Motors has invested more than $1.4 billion in the U.S., including the company’s first U.S. assembly plant in West Point, Georgia – Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia – which is responsible for the creation of more than 11,000 plant and supplier jobs.  The success of the U.S.-built* Optima and Sorento in two of the industry’s largest segments has fueled Kia’s rapid growth and is complemented by Kia’s comprehensive lineup which includes the Cadenza flagship sedan, Soul urban passenger vehicle, Sportage compact CUV, Optima Hybrid, the Forte sedan, 5-door and Koup compacts, Rio and Rio 5-door sub-compacts and the Sedona minivan.

About Kia Motors America
Kia Motors America is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 765 dealers throughout the United States and serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and LPGA.  In 2012, KMA recorded its best-ever annual sales total and gained U.S. market share for the 18th consecutive year.  Kia is poised to continue its momentum and will continue to build the brand through design innovation, quality, value, advanced safety features and new technologies.

Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its website – www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.  To receive custom email notifications for press releases the moment they are published, subscribe at http://www.kiamedia.com/us/en/newsalert.

About the Vans Warped Tour:
The Vans Warped Tour® is well established as America’s premier music and lifestyle festival of the summer, breaking up-and-coming indie talent as well as both creating and showcasing major established artists since 1995.  The nationally-renowned festival is the most eclectic traveling tour and features a diverse array of artists--with hotly tipped acts in every genre from punk, metal and indie to rock, hip-hop, rap, EDM, reggae and pop; as well as a variety of lifestyle attractions for its traditionally low ticket price. 

The tour has cemented its place in history by bringing punk rock/skate/action sports culture from the underground to the forefront of global youth culture, while at the same time helping those in need and being the first tour to consistently use groundbreaking environmental concepts every year on the road.  The Warped Eco Initiatives (WEI) focus on making the tour more environmentally friendly whether it is through eco conscious catering for the artists and crew courtesy of Tada Catering or a solar-powered sound system on the Kevin Says Stage.  Further, www.vanswarpedtour.com even showcases public transportation options for every tour date and carpool social media apps as well as exotic eco travel contests. For more information on the tour that Alternative Press readers voted the “Best Tour/Festival” of 2009/2010/2011/2012 and Rolling Stone called “America’s most successful festival” (2005) go to: www.vanswarpedtour.com. Now in its 19th year, the 40-date tour will commence June 15 in Seattle, WA and finishes August 4 in Houston, TX. 

www.vanswarpedtour.com
http://twitter.com/vanswarpedtour

Check out the full list of Vans Warped Tour dates here: http://vanswarpedtour.com/dates.

Vans Warped Tour Media Contacts: 

Libby Coffey
MSO
818-380-0400, 224
LCoffey@msopr.com

Angela Villaneuva
818-380-0400, 223
AVillanueva@msopr.com

* The Sorento and Optima GDI (EX Trims and certain LX Trims only) and GDI Turbo are built in the United States from U.S. and globally sourced parts.