Last year was a rough one, but for Simple Plan fans, a global pandemic wasn’t the only earth-shattering event.
Over the summer, original bassist David Desrosiers—who had just returned to the spotlight after two years fighting depression, withdrew from the band, following a sexual harassment accusation coming out against him. While nobody knows if this is a permanent change, everyone else in the Canadian-born pop-punk band has assured its fans that once concerts do come back, they’re planning to go the extra mile to make sure that everybody is safe and secure in every way possible.
On the other side of the aisle, Coral Springs pop punk group New Found Glory is also trucking along after a major incident. After key songwriter Steve Klein was ousted from the band after being charged with possession of child pornography, among other events including indecent exposure, the remaining “My Friends Over You” stars have stayed as active on the road and in the studio as ever. The band even joined Taylor Swift and Bob Dylan in releasing a pandemic era album, Forever + Ever x Infinity—which was ultimately pushed back by a month, due to the band wanting to release it physically. Obviously, NFG knew that COVID-19 wasn’t going to make that a safe task.
In early 2020, both bands—the former still featuring Desrosiers, were set to hit the road together on the “Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead” tour, with added special guests along the way. Now that things are finally beginning to clear up, the tour has officially been rescheduled, with all original venue stops on the list—including St. Pete’s Jannus Live, serving as the third to last venue for the bands to rock. Joining the pop punk staples will be singer-songwriter and Panic! At The Disco collaborator Lolo (stylized LOLO).
Other Florida stops on the run include Fort Lauderdale (Oct. 15 at Revolution Live) and Orlando (Oct. 16 at House of Blues).
Originally, the very sold-out St. Pete stop was going to open the tour. But why complain now? I can’t imagine that anyone will be taking live music as a whole for granted for years to come. Thanks, vaccine.
Watch the dorkfest of a video, promoting the “Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead” tour, below.
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This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2021.