“This year has felt like an emotional roller-coaster,” admits Vic Fuentes, vocalist and guitarist for Pierce the Veil.

After twenty years of relentless touring and electrifying performances, the band reached a landmark by headlining New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Yet the jubilation turned to heartbreak when their longtime agent and dear friend Dave Shapiro, along with Dominic Damian, Daniel Williams, Emma Huke, Kendall Fortner and photographer Celina Kenyon, perished in a plane crash returning to San Diego.

The tragedy struck just four shows into the thirty-date North American “I Can’t Hear You” tour. Shapiro had championed Pierce the Veil since their early Warped Tour days, guiding their ascent from small festival stages to sold-out arenas.

Despite overwhelming grief, the band resolved to carry on. “Dave brought us here,” Fuentes reflects. “He put us on that MSG stage—honoring him meant pushing forward.”

They dedicated the tour to Shapiro and the other victims, with Live Nation supplying grief counselors at every venue. Within days, Pierce the Veil returned to the stage, delivering powerful performances at iconic locales such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Kia Forum.

The North American leg wrapped in June, giving the band a respite before launching the European portion on September 20 in Dublin. Stops include London’s OVO Arena Wembley, Amsterdam’s AFAS Live and arenas across Germany and Belgium.

“In the U.K., you climb the ladder venue by venue,” Fuentes notes. “It took us nearly two decades, but now we’re bringing our biggest production overseas.”

Pierce the Veil’s momentum was bolstered by supporting Blink-182’s 2023 stadium reunion tour—playing Fenway Park and other historic amphitheaters. “Opening for Blink-182 was surreal,” Fuentes says. “We played stadiums most bands only dream of.”

Central to their resurgence is the 2023 album The Jaws of Life (Fearless Records), which debuted atop Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart and spawned enduring singles.

Tracks like “Emergency Contact” showcased their intensity, while “So Far So Fake,” written with Curtis Peoples, went viral on TikTok in 2024. “I always believed in that song,” Fuentes admits. “Watching it explode online was incredible.”

The album’s nod to ’90s alt-rock and grunge expanded their sonic palette while preserving their signature energy. “We trusted our instincts,” he adds. “That record took us further than we imagined.”

Its theme of resilience—“clawing your way out of darkness”—resonated deeply with fans, reflecting the band’s journey from Vans Warped Tour upstarts to arena headliners.

This year, Fuentes made a surprise acoustic appearance at Warped Tour to spotlight his nonprofit, the Living The Dream Foundation, which grants VIP concert experiences to young people facing serious illness.

The foundation is now woven into every tour, with each ticket sale contributing to its mission. “It’s part of who we are,” Fuentes says. “We’ll keep it alive as long as we can.”

As they prepare for Europe, the weight of recent events still lingers. “It’s surreal—some days, it doesn’t feel real,” Fuentes admits. “But the shows and the fans give us purpose.”

Though 2025 has tested them beyond measure, Fuentes envisions hope ahead. “Music saved us,” he concludes. “And right now, it’s still saving us.”

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