Simple Plan

One of Canada’s most popular pop-punk bands and the most successful to break out of Quebec, Simple Plan have grown a little bit older and wiser since forming in Montreal in 1999. But even as speedy and hook-filled early hits like 2002’s “I’m Just a Kid” gave way to a beefier and more varied sound that drew from alt-rock, emo, and even funk, Simple Plan have retained a snotty sensibility that feels teenaged in the best possible way. Nor have they lost any of the irrepressible energy that fills No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls, the cheekily titled 2002 debut that fuelled the band’s swift rise from playing early-afternoon slots on the Vans Warped Tour and gigs opening for Good Charlotte, Avril Lavigne, and blink-182 to headlining their own tours in Canada and the U.S. Later albums like 2004’s Still Not Gettin' Any… and 2008’s Simple Plan showed off more strengths that were evident from the get-go, including the band’s emphasis on melodic songcraft and frontman Pierre Bouvier’s willingness to show off a more vulnerable side on “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)”, “Save You,” and many other songs that no high school dance should go without.