On April 24, 2002, Dashboard Confessional helped spark the third wave of emo in the early 2000s. Their performance on MTV Unplugged 2.0 became one of the most legendary performances in the show’s history. The show returned in the early 2000s, after a successful run in the 90s with defining artists such as Nirvana and Alice In Chains. When Dashboard Confessional performed in April 2002, you could feel we’re officially tapping into a new decade and new music movement.
One notable feature of this performance is the crowd. At the time, emo hadn’t entirely infiltrated the mainstream just yet. With this, “scene kids” weren’t in full swing yet, and the audience looked like average college-aged kids at the turn of the century. Watching them belt out each word along with frontman Chris Carrabba predicted the ultimate reign of emo in the 2000s. After releasing the performance on December 17, 2002, the album shot to No. 1 on the Independent Albums chart and No. 1 on the US Heatseekers Albums chart.
25th Anniversary Tour Announcement
On November 9, 2026, Dashboard Confessional announced a 15-date tour celebrating 25 years of their legendary MTV Unplugged 2.0 performance. The tour will run from March 12, 2027, in Chicago, through April 3, wrapping up in San Francisco. They’ll also make stops in Toronto, Brooklyn, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, frontman Chris Carrabba expressed his excitement along with the tour announcement. “Dashboard Confessional’s Unplugged was a pivotal and unifying moment for the band and our fans.” He went on to add, “I’m so excited to celebrate that moment in time. I’ve recently done some thrillingly small solo acoustic shows in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles — the energy around those shows was, fittingly, electric. I’m excited to carry that spirit into bigger venues with the band arrangements from our original Unplugged performance.”
Aside from their anniversary tour, Dashboard Confessional has more to be excited about in 2027. Ahead of the tour, the band will tour Australia and New Zealand with The Fray, continuing their Summer of Light Tour. Following the anniversary tour, they’ll perform at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. In October 2027, Dashboard Confessional supports Hilary Duff as she continues her Lucky Me Tour across the US. They’ll be playing selected dates on the tour, alongside Tegan and Sara.
Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect
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