As it’s already become quite the tradition here at SimplePlan.cz, we end the year with a large recap of all the major SP-related news that took place that year [check out the previous recaps here: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015]. So of course I wouldn’t even think about skipping this tradition this year.
2016 was a very big year for Simple Plan – mostly due to the release of their 5th record and the start of their TOFTT tour cycle. So let’s take a look at some of the most important events that took place in the SP world this year from January all the way to December.
Here’s the recap of 2016:
Simple Plan didn’t wait very long to kick off the new year in a big way and right on January 1st they took part in the NHL Winter Classic game, where they performed the Canadian national anthem. Just a few days later, the band made their way back to Europe, particularly to Paris, where they had some promotional events to attend [after their previous visit in November had to be canceled due to the 2015 terrorist attacks]. The promotion of their upcoming record continued in Canada, where the band filmed the music video for ‘Opinion Overload’ along with a number of their fans and which premiered just a few days later in February. The following weeks were filled with more album promo, song previews and SimplePlan.cz was also the first to reveal the full booklet of the new album. ‘Taking One For The Team’ finally came out on February 19th and the band celebrated it just a day later with another videoshoot – for ‘Singing In The Rain’. And let’s not forget that SP.cz also welcomed the new album with a brand new website design.
With their new album out, it was time for Simple Plan to get back on the road – and where else to start their tour cycle than in Europe, where the album’s popularity has already been proving itself on various charts. During their EU tour in February and March with Ghost Town and The Bottom Line, Simple Plan visited many places – most notably Prague, where the fans of SimplePlan.cz managed to surprise the band with a huge number of signs during “The Rest Of Us”. And once again, SimplePlan.cz had the opportunity to interview the members Simple Plan – this time around Chuck and Sebastien backstage before the show in Prague. After Europe, SP headed to Asia for a little while in April, where they also performed at the Japanese PunkSpring festival, where they were joined on stage by Jenna McDougall from Tonight Alive. Soon after that, Simple Plan finally released the music video for their second single from TOFTT – ‘Singing In The Rain’.
After a little time off at home, the band made their way back to Europe for the second leg of their tour on the old continent. Once again, the band was joined by The Bottom Line, as well as ROAM, who both opened for SP on this part of the tour. Ahead of the tour, SimplePlan.cz also interviewed Callum Amies from The Bottom Line about his time on the road with SP. In the following weeks, Simple Plan’s newest single ‘Singing In The Rain’, which they finally also put on the EU tour’s setlist, was seen climbing up the charts – mostly on the HOT AC charts in the U.S. And that’s exactly where SP headed next, for their short acoustic promo tour across the United States’ radio stations.
These U.S. acoustic sets continued in July – with only 4 members of the band participating. Chuck finally joined the band again at the first next non-acoustic show – when SP opened for Blink-182 in Winnipeg. Around that time, 5 Seconds of Summer paid homage to Simple Plan on their show in Montreal, where they covered their song ‘Perfect’. July was then mostly filled with a tour in Mexico and also performances at various Canadian festivals, which continued in August. That month SimplePlan.cz interviewed Sebastien about Man Of The Hour’s 10th anniversary… and speaking of anniversaries, SimplePlan.cz celebrated its own 9th anniversary on August 13th with another Czech fans meet-up, with one of the highest attendances of fans yet.
The beginning of September was marked by Simple Plan’s return to Asia and Australia. Their stay in Australia was filled with many surprises, mostly after the uncanny demand for concert tickets for the Australian shows, after which Simple Plan decided to add 2 additional shows in Melbourne. Simple Plan’s long-awaited TOFTT vinyl (in black and in white) was also finally released in September and SimplePlan.cz held an international contest for one of the limited pieces. The Simple Plan guys then took a little time off for a couple of weeks, in order to get ready for the U.S. tour, which has been an astounding success – with most of the concerts being sold-out. After its end, some band members stayed in the U.S. to perform a few more acoustic concerts for charity/. Soon after that, the members of SP gathered in Montreal, where they filmed the music video for ‘Perfectly Perfect’. That month SP were also announced to be taking part in the new Montreal library musical instruments lending program.
Sad news came to us in November, when Simple Plan’s Canadian tour had to be fully post-poned to March due to Pierre’s health issues. The band then decided to take it easy in November and didn’t fully come back until December, when they surprised the fans with a new Christmas song called ‘Christmas Every Day’ and also with the new music video for ‘Perfectly Perfect’, which has reached 1 million views in just one week, making it the most successful music video from TOFTT so far. In December, Simple Plan went back on tour – this time to South America. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, David wasn’t able to join the band on that tour. But even without David, Simple Plan still made their stay in Brazil and other South American countries worth every minute, finishing the 2016 tour with a huge performance for 40 000 people at a festival in Peru.
And what can we expect from 2017?
There’s a lot of things we already know about the upcoming year. Firstly, the guys will be taking a little time off – at least in January, as Sebastien has stated on MOTH recently that he’s going on holiday. Their next already announced performances are the rescheduled shows in Canada, where they should be accompanied by PVRIS and as previously confirmed – David will be fully back on the road with Simple Plan. Besides Canada, other already confirmed tourdates include Europe, where the band will spend some time at least in June and also the very exciting Warped Rewind At Sea cruise, which will take place in the fall. Other concert dates are still yet to be announced, but Simple Plan are expected to tour a lot in 2017, so be ready for lots of concert recaps!
Besides touring, there are also some documentaries featuring SP in works with releases in 2017! Firstly, Herby Moreau documented SP’s tour in Brazil for his documentary series Vie de tournéé and secondly, Chuck Comeau is producing a documentary about the resurgence of pop-punk called “Resurgence”, which should feature lots of interviews with various artists, fans and also professional footage from many shows (including SP – from the U.S. and Australia).
Simple Plan will also of course continue with their charitable efforts in 2017. After reaching $2 000 000 in donations in 2016 since their Foundation’s start (in 2005), they are soon expected to hold another annual Simple Plan Foundation benefit event, assumably somewhere around the Montreal area.
Also, if everything works out, we might also potentially get to hear some new music next year! The members of the band have stated multiple times this year that they do not want to wait 5 years in between records again, which we wholeheartedly agree with. Whether the band will start working on a new record, or if they release some of the songs they have previously written for TOFTT, but which were left out of the release, in a form of an EP, is yet unknown. But one way opr another, we should not have to wait as long as we did for TOFTT.
And finally, we can’t forget to mention that Simple Plan’s first album ‘No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls’ will celebrate 15 years in March and SimplePlan.cz will celebrate 10 years since its official launch in August. So it’s fair to say we have lots and lots to look forward to next year! Make sure to follow SimplePlan.cz for everything and anything SP related in 2017 – you can find us everywhere – here on the web, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and also Instagram.
