Summer concerts are still alive and well this season, with Avril Lavigne being the latest artist to perform at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Long Island, NY on Tuesday (August 27).
The 39-year-old music icon brought her Greatest Hits Tour to the beachside amphitheater, celebrating her chart-topping songs spanning over a 22-year career. But before Avril hit the stage, fans were treated to performances from budding punk-pop duo girlfriends and Canadian legends Simple Plan.
Band members Pierre Bouvier, Chuck Comeau, Jeff Stinco, and Sébastien Lefebvre transported us back two decades with their 12-song set that showed emo music is certainly not dead and that it was never a phase. Opening with “I’d Do Anything,” the group kept the sold-out crowd on their feet from start to finish by performing songs like “Jump,” “Welcome To My Life,” “What’s New Scooby Doo?” — with many Scooby Doos running around the stage — and “Perfect.”
The best part of their performance was when Chuck crowdsurfed in the pit while Travis Mills from girlfriends joined the band onstage to sing their smash hit (and recently viral) “I’m Just A Kid.” It truly felt like we were back at the Teal Stage during Vans Warped Tour 2004, wearing our chucks and screaming back lyrics that reminded us of our earlier days.
Photo Credit: Santiago Hernandez 2024
At approximately 9:10pm, the “Motherf**kin’ Princess” everyone was waiting for finally arrived onstage. Donning platinum blonde locks, heavy goth glam, and a bedazzled hoodie paired with a mini skirt, fishnets and knee-high Docs, Avril made her way to the roaring crowd, opening her 17-song set with her smash hit from her 2007 album The Best Damn Thing “Girlfriend.” Keeping the momentum going, part one of her four-part production featured some of her most iconic tracks, including “What The Hell,” “Complicated,” “Smile,” “Here’s To Never Growing Up,” and “Hot.”
Lavigne continued to bring banger after banger as she performed “My Happy Ending,” “He Wasn’t,” “Don’t Tell Me,” “Losing Grip,” “When You’re Gone” “Bite Me,” and “Love It When You Hate Me.”
A highlight of the night came when the 39-year-old invited Simple Plan back to the stage for a cover of their song “Addicted.” The Canadian musicians brought up some of Avril’s biggest fans for the ultimate sing-a-long, however, the one that got the crowd really going was when the 8x GRAMMY-nominated, diamond-certified singer performed one of her breakout hits “Sk8er Boi” from 2002’s Let Go. The crowd erupted while screaming back the lyrics as confetti was shot into the audience for the ultimate ending. She followed with a two-song encore that included “Head Above Water” and “I’m With You.”
Reflecting on her 22-year career with video compilations and anecdotes about her chart-topping hits throughout the night, the vibrant, high-energy show unlocked the nostalgia, teenage angst, and even the rebellious side of us that we haven’t seen in years, making it truly a moment to remember.
Photo Credit: Santiago Hernandez 2024
Avril’s Greatest Hits Tour kicked off earlier this summer on May 23rd in Vancouver, BC at Rogers Arena. Since the beginning, fans have come out in droves to see the 39-year-old, along with groups like All Time Low, Simple Plan, Royal & The Serpent and girlfriends in cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Toronto. The North American run continues throughout the month of September with dates in cities like Charlotte, Nashville, Chicago, and Edmonton before wrapping on Wednesday, September 18th in Calgary, AB.
Listen to Avril Lavigne — Greatest Hits album below and keep scrolling to see the last few dates of the North American leg of The Greatest Hits tour. For tickets and other information, visit her website here.
