
Panic! At The Disco reunited and performed as the headliner of this year’s When We Were Young Fest. The group played A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out in its entirety along with hits such as “House Of Memories,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and more. Excitingly, the band closed out with “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” with OG drummer Spencer Smith. But sigh, Ryan Ross did not appear on this festival. Many fans had “High Hopes” that he would be part of the reunion, while others woke up on Monday morning to say, “I told you he wouldn’t be there.”
Ross, known for his songwriting prowess on A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out and Pretty. Odd., and bassist Jon Walker, parted ways with the band in July 2009 due to creative differences. Fans held out hope that their might be a true-to-form reunion at a festival as large as When We Were Young. Alas.
Some fans are grateful they missed When We Were Young 2025 because they did not, in fact, miss seeing Ross.
However, many fans were still elated to see Spencer behind the drum kit.
Uniquely, Ross’ ex Keltie Colleen Knight did share a note about Ross’ lack of appearance at When We Were Young. She shared an Instagram story reading, “I know songs belong to bands but it was wild to watch them do an album that was just so Ry, and his dad, and his childhood trauma. Knowing he was just a kid and just seeing all that pain so close up. Maybe I’m becoming a softie after all these years but it kind hurt my heart for him wherever he is.”
Maybe in a few more years…we will get an official reunion. Or maybe we’re delusional… time will tell.