Simple Plan Singer Pierre Bouvier Talks Hitting the Road With Sum 41 for ‘Blame Canada’ Tour (Exclusive)

Pop-punk mainstays Simple Plan and Sum 41 will be hitting the road later this year, for a run of shows dubbed the “Blame Canada” tour. The trek kicks off in Raleigh, North Carolina in April and will cover much of the nation before taking its final bow in Denver, Colorado on Aug. 18. Recently, Simple Plan singer Pierre Bouvier sat down with PopCulture.com to talk about the tour, explaining that the name is a “tip of the hat” to , referencing the animated franchise’s Oscar-nominated song.

“Canadians, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We love the joke and it’s funny because we both came out around the same time,” Bouvier said, noting that his band and Sum 41 have had very similar paths. “Their first album came out in 2001, ours came out in 2002. We’ve really had parallel careers. We were both riding the coattails of Blink 182 and Green Day who paved the way for us. And then we both had massive success throughout the world. And the cool thing is that we’re both bands still active, still together, still doing what we do.”

Bouvier added how it’s “something” they are both very proud of. “A lot of our peers have either called it quits or broken up or something. So it’s great to look back on all these years and say two Canadian pop-punk bands that are still doing it out there,” he said. In addition to Simple Plan and Sum 41, the tour will also feature opening bands Set it Off and Magnolia Park.

Speaking about the current state of the pop-punk/emo music scene, Bouvier said he loves “drawing inspiration from what’s going on” around him. “I’m continuously writing and I’m working with other people. I’m producing some stuff and I’m co-writing for people and I’m just inspired by what’s coming out. I love it because you know, pop-punk now if you look at MGK or other people, whatever Travis Barker’s producing this week,” he said. “It sounds like the early 2000s, but it’s definitely a modern take on it. And I, as a producer, I like to listen to that and go, ‘Whoa, that’s cool.’”

He later continued, “I’m so glad to hear some meshing of styles and what these guys are doing now. Whether it’s Magnolia Park or anybody coming out. I find it inspiring and I find myself listening to them and inspiring me for my next stuff. So, it’s like this weird vicious cycle where I think that maybe some of those guys knew Simple Plan and were inspired by what we were doing. Now, it’s going full circle and I’m listening to their stuff. So it’s really cool.” Fans can get a full list of dates for the Blame Canada tour, as well as access to tickets, by clicking here.