It would be impossible to tell the story of pop-punk without SIMPLE PLAN. Since playing their first show in 2000, the Montreal-formed quartet have been one of the most commercially and culturally successful acts of their era, spinning iconic songs like “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just A Kid,” “Addicted,” “Perfect,” “Welcome To My Life,” “Summer Paradise,” “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?),” “Shut Up!” and their cover of “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” into Gold and Platinum global certifications, a trophy case full of awards and an unparalleled legacy that’s spanned genres and generations.  Now, as they celebrate their 25th anniversary, they’re mounting their most significant year ever, spotlit by a monumental headlining tour and the release of a career-encompassing documentary in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video. In all, 2025 will see the band – Pierre Bouvier (vocals), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (guitar) and Sébastien Lefebvre (guitar) – perform for more than a million fans globally across their Bigger Than You Think! tour, landmark festivals like When We Were Young, and the Vans Warped Tour and in arenas and amphitheaters alongside Avril Lavigne and The Offspring.  “The last three years have really felt like a rebirth for us,” Comeau says. “We’re playing the largest shows of our career, and that’s pretty rare 25 years in. You always hope you can do this as long as possible, but we’re living the dream scenario of feeling like we’re not only still relevant, but growing more relevant every day.”  Indeed, as audiences have made the leap from CDs (Simple Plan sold 10 million of those) to streaming and social media (where the #ImJustAKid Challenge has spawned more than 6 million videos, from everyone like Venus and Serena Williams, the cast of Friends, Ed Sheeran, *NSYNC to your little cousin and his grandma, totaling more than 6 billion impressions on the platform), the band has been a constant thanks to their universally resonant songwriting. Their debut album, 2002’s No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls, and 2004 sophomore release Still Not Getting Any have been hailed by Rolling Stone, Kerrang and Alternative Press as some of the genre’s all-time best, carrying them to magazine covers, TRL countdowns and the silver screen (2004’s New York Minute), while their near-annual slots on the Vans Warped Tour kept them rooted in the same punk-rock ethos that initially bonded them as teenagers. They’ve carried that shapeshifting spirit throughout the years, kicking down the guardrails of their sound and continuing to expand their ambitions while collaborating with Sean Paul, Deryck Whibley, Natasha Bedingfield and Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo.  It’s all resulted in a career marked by highlights like a performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, a night with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and being awarded the prestigious Meritorious Service Cross in Canada for their philanthropy through the Simple Plan Foundation, which has raised and donated more than $3 million to hundreds of causes around the world since 2005.  Now, the entire history of the band is set to culminate on the Bigger Than You Think! tour, a cross-country U.S. trek with special guests Bowling for Soup, 3OH!3 and LØLØ. The tour marks their first proper US headlining run in nearly a decade and will take them to some of the most iconic venues they’ve ever headlined, alongside a career-spanning set filled with their greatest hits, deep cuts, songs from 2022’s Harder Than It Looks and plenty of special surprises for new fans and die-hards alike.  “What I always find amazing is that when we play shows in places, we’ve been to so many times and I ask how many people are seeing us for the first time, it’s generally over half the crowd,” Bouvier says. “The way I look at it is maybe we impacted so many people back in the day that we never got to see them all. Or maybe people are finding us for the first time through social media. Either way, it’s amazing.” Adds Comeau: “The greatest gift we’ve been given is that we somehow still get the chance to make a first impression on people even after all these years, and that makes us want to put on the best show we can, every single night.  Audiences will see this connection between Simple Plan and their fans firsthand through their upcoming Amazon Prime Video documentary. Directed by Didier Charette, this career-spanning retrospective comes at the perfect time for the band, with enough distance from their turn-of-the-millennium breakthrough for the world to finally recontextualize just what they’ve meant not only to pop-punk, but popular culture as a whole. (It’s not a coincidence they were the very first band announced for the 30th anniversary of the Vans Warped Tour.) Throughout the past 25 years, they’ve given voice to the angst of youth as well as the unpredictability of adulthood – growing with their fans in powerful ways that still resonate today.  One can’t help but be impressed at how Simple Plan navigated the fleeting nature of an industry that’s seen so many of their peers go the way of the oversized Dickies the band once made legendary. They’ve survived every obstacle thrown their way and have emerged stronger than ever – driven not by ego or held captive by nostalgia, but fueled by the mutual respect they’ve cultivated with fans and an artistic fire that’s never dimmed. “We’ve never been the coolest band,” Comeau admits. “We've never had a song that was number one around the world at the same time. We had to work hard for everything we accomplished, and I think it really defined who we are as a band and how we look at ourselves. We still have a chip on our shoulder and feel like we have something to prove.  “We’ve never broken up or taken a hiatus,” he continues proudly. “We’re lucky: We get along and we love what we do. We don’t want to stop or go on a farewell tour. We want to keep touring and making records. Simple Plan is the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep – and sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it.  “This band is forever, and there’s no reason for us to stop. We’ve never been more excited about what the future holds for us”, concludes Bouvier. 

We The Kings’ storied career has been marked by a deep reciprocity between the band and their fans. The band exploded out of Bradenton, Florida in 2007 with the release of their self-titled debut, producing singles like “Check Yes Juliet,” which became one of the most iconic songs of the late ‘00s pop-punk movement. Millions instantly fell in love with their buoyant spirit and emotionally poignant songwriting as they released singles like “Heaven Can Wait,” “We’ll Be A Dream (feat. Demi Lovato),” “Say You Like Me” and “Sad Song.” Vocalist/Guitarist Travis Clark, along with Hunter Thomsen (guitar), Danny Duncan (drums), Charles Trippy (bass) and Coley O’Toole (keyboard, guitar) have quickly learned to adapt in 2020 to now collaborate and make music from home while connecting with their fans in new ways. On February 5, 2021 the band released ‘SAGA,’ their latest EP and follow-up to the successful 2018 full-length, ‘Six’. With the ongoing distance between members and touring, the band continued to keep their fans and songwriting at the forefront, penning fresh singles for the EP that include “Turn It Up,” “These Nights,” “No 1 Like U,” and “Falling (So In Love).” They’ve pieced together treasured memories of the band’s years in the studio, on the road, and with their friendships on ‘SAGA.' Each song on SAGA revisits a unique time in We The Kings history, and takes the listener to a time and place that was important to the band.

Punk Rock kids writing Pop.