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Tenth grade, 1996. A fledgling high school band called Kaspir in Ontario, Canada decides to change their name, as their new music – mainly inspired by NOFX and hardcore punk – no longer suits their original moniker.
For various reasons, “Sum 41” is chosen; within two years, they release a mixtape called Rock Out with Your Cock Out and songs with catchy titles like Grab The Devil By The Horns And Fuck Him Up The Ass. These might not seem like sensible first steps on the path to longevity in the music business, and yet here Sum 41 still are (for a little while longer) – 28 years young, better than ever, still wowing fans young and old alike, on what’s so far been a celebratory, wildly successful world tour.
But this latest jaunt, Tour of the Setting Sum, is also bittersweet, marking as it does the band’s final chapter. It’s also in support of their last-ever album, the recently released Heaven :x: Hell. Announced alongside news of their impending breakup, the tour has taken on dual significance: a celebration of a stellar career that saw the band transition from skate-punk darlings to global rock mainstays and a farewell to fans and the music industry.
Spanning continents and featuring a carefully curated setlist that blends fan favourites with deeper cuts, the tour has also demonstrated the band’s wide appeal and ability to evolve musically while maintaining a distinct identity – all while staying true to the swagger and attitude that set them apart from their peers in the early 2000s punk-rock revival.
“A bit of a shock” is how Wasserman Music’s Geoff Meall, their long-standing agent (he booked one of their first international shows in April 2001, at The Garage in London) describes receiving the news that they were calling it quits, and even vocalist and guitarist Deryck Whibley, the only remaining founding member, has said in interviews that the decision was only taken once the most recent album was written and recorded.
“On the last European tour, in October 2022, I was actually chatting with Deryck in a dressing room about how long he’d keep this running for,” adds Meall. “We were laughing about [whether he could] keep it going as long as Jagger.”
“Being the final run afforded us the ability to go bigger and harder than we’d ever done before”
Who knows whether Whibley will still be rocking out in some form or other aged 81, but in the meantime, he and the band are doing a damn fine job of giving Sum 41 the send-off they deserve. “Being the final run afforded us the ability to go bigger and harder than we’d ever done before,” says Meall. “If this is indeed the last chance to ever see them…”
Outwardly at least, there weren’t many signs that Sum 41 was about to call time on their near 30-year career – after all, they were at the height of their powers, playing bigger and bigger shows on every tour. Read some of the many interviews Whibley has done over the last year or so, and you’ll discover the desire to end it was more a dawning realisation than an abrupt epiphany; he was tired, a little creatively burnt out, and yearned to do something different. In short, he just felt it was time.
But he kept these thoughts and discussions mainly to himself and to a very tightknit circle; most of the band’s crew had no idea. The news was officially announced in May 2023, two months after they’d announced Heaven :x: Hell, a double record that neatly summarises Sum 41’s two distinct eras: one side entirely All Killer No Filler–style pop-punk jams, the other full of the scorching metal headbangers that’ve become their latter-day staple.
And so, the tour had to fulfil two functions – showcase these new songs in the best way possible, and serve as a fitting farewell, with a setlist to match, for their (still growing) fanbase.
The creative brief was, however, relatively simple – it boiled down to bigger, better, more bombastic. Turn everything up to 11. “The show is a solid arena package – fire, confetti, thrust, pyro, and, of course, their long-time touring stage mascot, Bonesy,” says Meall.
“Deryck has a key influence in how the show looks – it’s his concept, cues, and moments,” says senior project manager Matt Heap of BPM SFX. “The band had a very specific idea in mind for the floor package,” adds lighting designer Lenny Sasso of Sonus Productions. “Their only request was that we slam them from the sides with beam fixtures. I took it from there and ran with it – I wanted to fill as much of the air as possible and send light everywhere.”
“Cities like Waukee, IA, can appear on the same tour route as major hubs like Los Angeles, CA”
By Sum distance
In terms of planning the actual route and which countries and cities to hit, the band’s team started by discussing key markets – as Live Nation’s Kelly Kapp, the band’s US promoter, says: “Sum 41 fans are as loyal as they come.” For the US, where they’ve toured five times over the last eight years, this has meant acknowledging the increasing importance of secondary and tertiary markets and building on momentum without rushing or skipping crucial stages.
“In their early days, there would be a major market tour followed by a secondary/tertiary tour,” says Kapp. “However, post-Covid, many of these secondary and tertiary markets have experienced significant population growth. Now, cities like Waukee, IA, can appear on the same tour route as major hubs like Los Angeles, CA.”
Kapp’s marketing team worked “each and every day” to ensure there was a wide-reaching national plan while also focusing on local engagement – as an example, she notes when walking into a record store in various cities, you’d immediately notice the tour’s presence. The fact that this was billed as a farewell tour also added to fans’ sense of urgency, not only from longtime fans but from younger fans who had yet to attend a show, meaning that extra shows could be added to the itinerary in confidence.
“We added second shows in Brooklyn, NY, and San Francisco, CA due to demand,” adds Kapp. “And while there was potential for a second show in LA, we decided that one big special night in Los Angeles was the best approach.”
In Australia, where they’ve toured six times, it’s a similar story – a strategic mix of headline festival slots, direct supports, and headline shows have shaped their fanbase to the point they are now headlining arena plays outside of festivals. “This tour is a little different as a farewell tour, as they are doing festival plays,” says Chris O’Brien of Destroy All Lines, their Australian promoter. “We have wrapped five headline plays around them but in slightly smaller arenas – if we were touring the band as a sole headline tour, it would have been in bigger scale arenas.”
“Once we’d made the decision to end the tour there, we built the tour backwards from there”
Sales have, says O’Brien, been “phenomenal,” and he expects all headline shows to sell out. In addition, he notes that fans of the band in B markets have remained very loyal and that their demographic has changed from “18-24-year-olds when they first toured in 2007 to 16-40+ on their most recent tours.”
When it came to Europe, a slightly different planning tactic was deployed. France has long since been the biggest live market for Sum 41 – formerly it was the UK, closely followed by Italy – and so the decision was made to end their European leg with their biggest-ever show, playing to 42,000 fans at the Paris La Défense Arena. “Once we’d made the decision to end the tour there, we built the tour backwards from there,” says Meall.
On top of that, they decided to announce – and put tickets on the market – well in advance. “Everything flowed from that decision,” adds Meall. “Props to Salomon [Hazot] at Saloni Production who drove us to go so early – it worked beautifully, selling 17,000 after just a few days and not stopping, which led to tons of pent-up demand across the rest of Europe, which we put up in June/July 2024 as we finished their last festival run ever.”
Hazot comments, “When Deryck told me they were going to stop, I said to him: ‘Let’s do something to make it really memorable for you and for the fans.’ I spoke to Geoff [Meall] about it, and he said, ‘The band has never done more than 10,000 – what do you think about a stadium?’ And I said, ‘A stadium is very optimistic, but why not? I want a Saturday night, and I want the last date of the European tour’ – and so we did a deal.”
With tickets going on sale so early and a desire to do “something really special,” Hazot hatched a clever and unique strategy: put 4,100 tickets on sale for 41 minutes at 10:41 and have them priced at just €41. “The media loved it, social media loved it – everyone thought it was hilarious!” recalls Hazot. Those tickets sold out in ten minutes; five days later, they put the rest of the tickets out at a regular price but still at 10.41 – they sold 10,000 in a day. “Crazy!” adds Hazot.
“They started in small clubs in Warsaw, and now they’re finishing in a big arena in Łódź”
The show itself – on Saturday, 23 November – was, says Hazot, “Honestly unbelievable. The fans wanted to get crazy, and the band wanted to get crazy – I’m sure everyone will remember it for a long time. Linkin Park played the same venue three weeks ago, and that was like a classical concert compared to this! I’m so proud to have been involved.”
With that date sold out so far in advance, demand also became evident in markets like Poland, an uncommon stop for previous Sum 41 tours. “They’ve been to Poland just a few times over the years; they started in small clubs in Warsaw, and now they’re finishing in a big arena in Łódź,” says Tomasz Masłowski, booking manager and head of promotion at Winiary Bookings. “So we’ve seen how their audience has grown.”
Masłowski’s focus was on finding the best place in central Poland with a great transport network. Atlas Arena in Łódź is a popular venue for big international artists and so was something of an obvious choice. “We were sure the last Polish Sum 41 show would be a huge event and lots of people would come,” says Masłowski, and so it proved; ticket demand was huge from the day the show was announced, with people travelling from all over the country, and even internationally, to attend.
In terms of promotion, Masłowski focused on online activities with influencers and targeted campaigns, but he also used what he terms “the old ways of promotion” – postering in and around the country’s biggest cities and advertising at pretty much every other Winiary show. “We promote about 250 shows per year, so that was a big promotional tool we could use,” he says.
In terms of this being a farewell tour, everyone IQ speaks to stresses how much effort everyone involved – Whibley, the rest of the band, and the whole crew – puts in to make each show as memorable as possible. “Magical” is how Campbell describes the band’s final bow after each show. “We see such emotional reactions from audience members, and you can really see the emotion that each band member is feeling at that moment written all over their faces.”
“We made all of the rigs as pre-rigged as possible, to make sure we had the smoothest load in we could”
He adds that the setlist is regularly switched up “to give everyone the hits they want to hear but also the deep cuts that they love,” and how everyone is trying to be very present and very humble. “The band and crew are just enjoying and making the most of every moment – no negative vibes in the Sum 41 camp!”
And then Sum
Spectacle was indeed the name of the game, particularly with the lighting and effects. “Sum 41 have their inflatables that they use upstage centre. I wanted to bring focus and attention to these, so I angled every flown truss to point back to the inflatable with the intention to make it look like the rig was exploding out from the inflatable,” says Sasso of his design. “Knowing how much Deryck runs around stage, I also added ramps and a catwalk to connect the two risers, giving him way more of a playground to work with. I lined the entire catwalk with LED battens (X4 Bars or Chauvet PXL 16s) to give that classic wall-of-light-curtain look.”
Sasso also utilised three mirror balls – upstage left, centre, and right behind the risers – and hit them with beams to blast a refracted mirror ball look through the band, an effect that proved somewhat challenging and required a custom solution. “We used 3’ mirror balls (1m in the EU) and inverted them so they’d sit on the floor behind the risers – essentially top-mounted on the motor, but we burned through the first set of motors we used,” says Sasso.
“Eventually, through trial and error, we had one of our shop fabricators custom-build a motor capable of supporting the weight of the ball and then spinning it. It was definitely a headache to make happen, but the end result was absolutely worth it.” Another important factor was the ease of loading in and out – and transportation – and keeping an eye on costs; with post-Covid inflation laying siege to many tours, the need to be efficient with optimised logistics has never been as critical. “We made all of the rigs as pre-rigged as possible, to make sure we had the smoothest load in we could – everything was designed with ease in mind,” says Jordan Dormer of Colour Sound Experiment.
To this end, they employed some custom touring dollies for the floor package fixtures and moved the lasers onto these dollies. “Even our floor tow- ers were out every night, no matter how big the stage was,” adds Dormer.
“We used the new-on-the-market Magic FX ECO2 Jet, which replaces the conventional CO2 Jet”
Greater than the Sum of its parts
The band’s touring audio system, as chosen and facilitated through Mike Adams of Clair Global, similarly helped deliver what was required in an economical way. Together with FOH engineer Bryan Campbell, they settled on using Cohesion equipment – specifically CO-12 and 218 subs, with a CO-10 front fill “to make up for the lack of stage volume coming off the deck.”
Continues Adams: “Cohesion has a very minimal footprint hanging in an arena or stadium, so design teams love it, the promoter loves the revenue they can pick up from less seat kills, and logistically, a full arena system including rigging can easily fit in one 53 foot x 102 inch wide trailer. That saved them an entire second truck throughout the course of the tour, and at the current rate, an artist can easily save $250,000 over the course of a tour cycle.”
Pyro was also an area where savings could be made without affecting the show’s visual impact. “We used the new-on-the-market Magic FX ECO2 Jet, which replaces the conventional CO2 Jet,” says Heap. “It’s a smoke jet with like-to-like properties of a CO2 jet, only without the need for a large number of CO2 bottles, which reduces costs by thousands of euros for the production. BPM have over seventy of these in stock and are the only ones in the UK with these – they’re already proving to be the go-to machine for touring and multi-act festival installs.”
The sheer number of flames included in the show initially “scared the crap out of both production and the band during rehearsals – it was hilarious!” laughs Heap. “So much heat was created we’d trigger the fire alarms in the rehearsal space multiple times. But they love the flames now.”
Indeed, so intense is all the pyro that the same issue occurred at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, where the band played two sold-out shows in May. “On the first night, during Fat Lip, our on-stage pyro set off the smoke alarm, which mutes the PA and turns on all the house lights in the venue,” says Bryan Campbell, front of house engineer. “The audience wasn’t having it – [Frank] Zummo kept the beat steady on the drumkit, and the crowd sang the whole song till the very end! Once the fire system was reset and we had control of the PA and lights again, the band hit replay and performed the song again.”
Of course, transporting all this equipment – plus the band and the crew – around the world is exceptionally expensive, especially considering they started out in Asia, hit America, came to Europe, went back to the US, back again to Europe, before seven dates in Australia, then the final leg in Canada. But the band’s team were careful to cost it all out and figure out the logistics first before even booking any shows.
“No doubt I’ll shed a tear come the final curtain in Paris”
“Preplanning is really important, so it helps that they brought us in early for this tour cycle and didn’t book any shows until they had run it by us to look at the cost and feasibility of getting whatever system they needed to their next show,” says Jason Bird, global head of music at EFM Global. In part, this has meant deploying an A and B system, which has allowed management to plan the routing ahead of time and figure out the smartest, most cost-effective way of moving the gear around the world. “A prime example of this was Asia and China earlier this year,” he adds. “The schedule was so tight that we needed both systems there to leapfrog from country to country.”
Summing up
“I don’t think it will really hit us until the very last show, and the tour officially ends in Canada,” adds tour manager Ivan Copelan. “Then I think everyone will look back and be both happy and sad – happy to have been part of such a great tour and sad that it’s all ending.”
He notes that they’ve seen a lot of the same fans coming to multiple shows and how aware the band are after each show that this is the last time they’ll play that particular city – many of which have been favourite stomping grounds over the years.
The fan tears being shed after each show are testament to what Sum 41 means to multiple generations of music fans, a deep connection that’s sustained the band since their breakout hits nearly 30 years ago. “Many of these fans have grown up alongside the band, continuing to attend their shows over the years,” says Kapp. “And with each tour, a new generation of listeners have discovered their music and joined the crowd, keeping the band’s legacy alive.”
With so much love, respect, and success, can this really be the end? Few bands get to bow out on their own terms; fewer still when they’re as popular and dynamic as ever. In the music industry, one can never say never, but it truly seems as though this is the end. “Sadly, I’d love to say they’ll be back, but this is a genuine goodbye,” says Meall. “No doubt I’ll shed a tear come the final curtain in Paris – it’s been a great ride.”
And so, a remarkable band calls time on a remarkable career with a fittingly brilliant tour. “I don’t wanna waste my time” goes one memorable line from Fat Lip, the song that saw them explode across MTV, the world, and a million teenage stereos. Safe to say that’s one ambition they more than fulfilled.
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IQ 132, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s leading magazine, is available to read online now.
The December/January issue marks 30 years in the agency business for electronic music pioneer Maria May and 20 years in the concert business for German mainstay Wizard Live.
Elsewhere, Coldplay production manager Chris Kansy takes home The Gaffer Award (again!), Derek Robertson talks to the crew behind Sum 41’s farewell outing and Adam Woods health-checks the historically robust live music industry in Austria.
Primavera Sound and Roskilde discuss gender-balanced festival lineups, CAA’s Chris Ibbs celebrates the rise of women to the top of global touring and WME’s Meera Patel defines the role of agency tour marketers.
This issue will also deliver a round-up of the last 12 months and a glimpse at what 2025 might have in store.
A selection of magazine content will appear online in the next four weeks but to ensure your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:
Sum 41 have unveiled a unique ticketing offer for their European swansong.
The Canadian rock band have announced they will perform their final concert in Europe at Paris La Défense Arena in France on 23 November 2024.
The presale for the show, promoted by AEG Presents France, starts this Monday 26 June at 4.41pm CEST, with 4,141 standing tickets available at €41 for 41 hours. The general sale will then take place on Wednesday 28 June 28 from 12:41 pm.
Paris La Défense Arena is Europe’s largest indoor arena with a scalable capacity from 10,000 to 40,000.
The gig will mark the climax of the European leg of Sum 41’s When the Sum Sets farewell tour, with further dates still to be announced.
Last month, the group revealed they would be splitting up at the end of the tour after nearly 30 years together
Last month, the group, whose international agent is Wasserman Music’s Geoff Meall, revealed they would be splitting up at the end of the tour after 28 years together.
“Being part of Sum 41 since 1996 brought us some of the best times of our lives,” they said at the time. “We are forever grateful to our fans, both old and new, who have supported us in every way. It is hard to articulate the love and respect we have for all of you and we wanted you to hear this from us first.
“Sum 41 will be disbanding. We will be still be finishing all of our current upcoming tour dates this year and we’re looking forward to releasing our final album Heaven :x: Hell, along with a final worldwide tour to celebrate. Details will be announced as soon as we have them.”
The five-piece are also set to bring their Let the Bad Times Roll Tour with The Offspring and Simple Plan tour to the US for 24 dates this August and September.
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Canadian rock band Sum 41 cancelled a show in the French capital on Saturday night (18 January) after an “explosive device” was detonated outside the venue they were to appear in.
Saturday night’s show, which was to be held at Les Etoiles (500-cap.) nightclub, formed part of the band’s ‘No Personal Space’ performances, “special shows in tiny clubs”.The band, currently on their Order in Decline world tour, played an arena date in Paris at the 6,800-capacity Zénith on Friday.
According to reports, the band posted the following statement on social media, which was later deleted: “During load in for tonight’s performance in Paris, an explosive device was detonated just outside of the venue door. Band, crew, the fans in line are all safe, there were no injuries.
“Due to the intimate nature of our ‘Personal Space’ performances, we are unable to guarantee the safety of the fans in attendance. We are deeply saddened to announce that tonight’s show has been canceled [sic]. More information to follow.”
“Unfortunately, the Sum 41 show at Les Etoiles is cancelled tonight”
The band later posted a new statement on the Twitter, saying “Unfortunately, the Sum 41 show at Les Etoiles is cancelled tonight. All tickets will be refundable with your tickets, Further details will be posted ASAP.”
The manager of the venue, Vincent Le Gall, told Franceinfo that the explosion was caused by a firecracker thrown by gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesters. Thousands across France took to the streets last week for a new wave of the protests, which began in November 2018 in response to rising fuel prices.
Sum 41 are playing a second sold-out ‘No Personal Space’ show at the Dome (500-cap.) in North London, before heading to Amsterdam’s Afas Live (6,000-cap.), Dusseldorf’s Mitsubishi Electric Halle (7,500-cap.) and Zenith in Munich (6,000-cap.). Details of dates and ticket prices can be found here.
Photo: Stefan Brending/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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