Pop-punk is not dead. In fact, it never grew up.
Avril Lavigne and more than 10,000 fans proved it on a rainy Wednesday night at the Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview in Syracuse. The concert featured Simple Plan, We the Kings, “Scooby-Doo,” colorful beach balls, parents and kids, and even a “Shrek” reference.
Lavigne delivered her “Greatest Hits” and then some, one-upping her last Syracuse concert (when she opened for Machine Gun Kelly at the amphitheater in 2022). Every other song was a huge hit in the 2000s, from the No. 1 “Girlfriend” and her debut smash “Complicated” to fan favorites like “Sk8er Boi” and “What the Hell.”
She swayed breezily on stage, even during faster songs, and told stories about starting her career while she was still a teenager in high school. By the time she turned 20 in 2004, Lavigne had already won multiple Juno Awards in her native Canada and Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, plus received eight Grammy nominations and co-wrote the song “Breakaway” (which she also performed at the Empower FCU Amphitheater) for Kelly Clarkson and “The Princess Diaries 2″ soundtrack.
Other highlights included an acoustic cover of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” the Travis Barker collaboration “Bite Me,” and video clips from Lavigne’s career, including when she won a radio contest to perform with Shania Twain in 1999.
But the true theme of the night was Lavigne’s 2013 song “Here’s to Never Growing Up.” She introduced the song by asking who’s under 20 and who’s over 40, chuckling at the differences in the pitches of the audience’s screams.
“However old you are, whoever you’re with tonight, cheers to that,” Lavigne said.
Lavigne, now 40, didn’t look or sound much different from the pop-punk princess who inspired millions of teens to wear striped ties with tank tops. She still combines the Hot Topic aesthetic with bright colors and glitter-covered guitars and microphones. Her bassist Matt Reilly even has bright pink hair and a passing resemblance to Lavigne’s ex-husband, Deryck Whibley of Sum 41.
Even Lavigne’s newest song, “Young & Dumb” — a 2025 collaboration with Simple Plan — was about youth. Simple Plan joined her on stage to sing about their early rock star days and how nothing’s changed 20 years later, complete with the audience singing the genre’s trademark whoa-oh-ohs.
Avril Lavigne: The Greatest Hits: Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
Simple Plan’s set was a similar time machine to the days of MySpace and the Warped Tour. Lead singer Pierre Bouvier commanded the stage, singing radio hits like “I’d Do Anything,” “Addicted,” “Perfect” and “Welcome to My Life” with exuberance.
The Canadian pop-punk band encouraged the crowd to jump, throw beach balls, and sing along. They even brought out a group of people dressed like Scooby-Doo as they performed the iconic theme song, which Simple Plan recorded for the 2000s animated series “What’s New, Scooby-Doo?” (which also featured the band as themselves in an episode).
Their only misstep came during a not-so-simple plan that put Bouvier (wearing a shirt that said “I’m Just an Adult”) on drums during “I’m Just a Kid” while drummer Chuck Comeau ran around the pit asking fans to help with the chorus. But the chaos was still fun.
Opening act We the Kings was similarly high-energy, warming up the crowd with extra volume to fill the air when the audience didn’t know all the words. Lead singer Travis Clark still moved everyone easily, asking them to clap, wave, and jump, throwing their hands up like Kermit the Frog saying “yay!” - an ironic choice for a semi-acoustic song called “Sad Song.”
Clark admitted that asking fans to squat before the jumps might have been tough on some middle-aged fans’ knees. He also joked about their biggest hit, “Check Yes Juliet,” and revealed that the band has leaned into internet memes by selling merch that features an emo Shrek on a T-shirt and the phrase “Shrek Yes Juliet.”
Even funnier, the alternative rock quintet performed a cover of “Mr. Brightside” right after Clark asked the audience how many of them knew who We the Kings were. Some fans were initially confused — is this a We the Kings song or The Killers? — but sang along at the top of their lungs anyway.
Overall, it was both simple and complicated, and 100% fun.
Simple Plan set list - May 28, 2025 at Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview, Syracuse, N.Y.
I’d Do Anything
Shut Up!
Jump
Welcome to My Life
Addicted
Summer Paradise
What’s New Scooby Doo Theme Song
This is Where I Belong (with We The Kings singer Travis Clark)
I’m Just a Kid
Perfect
Avril Lavigne set list - May 28, 2025 at Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview, Syracuse, N.Y.
Girlfriend
What the Hell
Complicated
Here’s to Never Growing Up
Rock n Roll
My Happy Ending
He Wasn’t
Pink Pony Club (Chappell Roan cover) / Warrior
Keep Holding On
Breakaway (Kelly Clarkson song)
Don’t Tell Me
Young & Dumb (with Simple Plan)
Bite Me
Love It When You Hate Me
Sk8er Boi
Encore:
Head Above Water
When You’re Gone
I’m With You
