Simple Plan Find a New Crowd 25 Years In
Simple Plan drummer Chuck Comeau says that at some of the band's shows, about 85% of the audience has never seen them live before. He told Billboard in an interview published on 8 November 2026, as the band marks 25 years together.
Many of those newcomers are very young. Comeau said some fans were not born when "I'm Just a Kid" came out in 2002. A few have started calling the band "classic rock," which is a strange thing to hear from a crowd that wasn't around for the original.
The song has also found a second life online. On TikTok, "I'm Just a Kid" became the soundtrack to a challenge in which users recreate their childhood photos.
The band's chart history goes back much further. Its 2004 album, Still Not Getting Any..., debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the weekly chart that ranks the best-selling and most-streamed albums in the United States. Its single "Perfect" reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, the matching weekly singles chart, and "Welcome to My Life" climbed to No. 40.
Simple Plan are heading back to Australia for the Good Things Festival, a bill headed by Limp Bizkit. The lineup also includes Spiritbox. The band plays Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on 4 December, Sydney Showground on 5 December and Brisbane Showgrounds on 6 December. It is their third trip to Australia in three years.
Work is also under way on new music. Simple Plan have started writing their seventh studio album, and the process will continue into 2027. Their most recent record, Harder Than It Looks, came out in 2022. Across 25 years, the band has released six albums.
Comeau also named Bad Religion as his favourite band ahead of the festival. The band has a documentary, The Kids in the Crowd, available on Prime Video, which follows its fans as well as the band.
For a group whose best-known song is about being a kid, a crowd that wasn't born when it was released is a new kind of audience. The band's next tour dates are the Australian shows in December, and the next album is still being written.
