From the Stage to the Stands: Simple Plan Brought Nostalgia to Prague and United Fans as One Family

In mid-October, Canadian pop-punk band Simple Plan returned to the Czech Republic. Their comeback came almost exactly a year after their previous visit, when they last performed here in early October 2025, supporting American rockers The Offspring on their Supercharged Tour 2025. You can revisit that show in our report from last year.

Simple Plan Celebrate a Quarter of a Century, Including in Prague…

This year, the band returned with their own headline tour, Bigger Than You Think! Tour 2026, celebrating their 25th anniversary. The worldwide tour was divided into several legs and kicked off in North America last year. This autumn, it moved to Europe and the UK, with the final shows scheduled to take place in Asia and Australia towards the end of the year.

The Prague concert took place on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at the O2 Universum arena and had already completely sold out more than a month in advance. Several hours before the doors opened (or, as we like to joke, before the popular band "Open Door", which kicks off every proper party, took the stage), a queue of excited fans had already formed outside O2 Universum. (Although Czech concertgoers have definitely become more comfortable over the years. In the past, a queue like this would have started forming in the early morning hours.) It was clear that most of the audience consisted of fans who had grown up listening to the band during their teenage years. Now, after all this time, they had come to fulfil a childhood dream and finally see their pop-punk heroes live, perhaps not for the first time, as was the case for me.

Fans Stick Together…

Among those waiting was Dominika Mars, administrator of simpleplan.cz and founder of the band's Czech fan club. She was greeting fans, catching up with familiar faces and handing out badges featuring the website's address. (I got one too.)

At six o'clock, the doors opened and the crowd poured inside. Right at the entrance, visitors were greeted by the usual temptation, the merchandise stand. Alongside the standard band clothing, fans could purchase a tour T-shirt featuring all the current tour dates or a truly unique item, a T-shirt with the date of the Prague concert. In addition to clothing, fans could also get their hands on vinyl records signed by the band. There was also plenty of merchandise from the supporting acts.

Blue-Haired Charlotte Sands Kicks Off the Evening…

The concert was opened by American independent pop-punk singer-songwriter Charlotte Sands. Prague is certainly no stranger to her, as she had already performed here twice, most recently in June 2024 with her own headline show at Bike Jesus.

At around eight o'clock, she burst onto the stage full of energy and wasted no time sharing it with the crowd. Although she usually performs with a full live band, she is accompanied by only a drummer on this tour, with the guitar and bass parts provided by backing tracks.

Her performance got the blood pumping among fans eagerly awaiting their nostalgic idols. She danced, jumped and raced across the stage like an unstoppable force. Her set included songs such as Afterlife, Hush and neckdeep.

Energetic Neck Deep Keep the Momentum Going…

Charlotte Sands was followed by Welsh pop-punk band Neck Deep. (The similarity between the title of Charlotte Sands' last-mentioned song and the name of the next band is purely coincidental .) I believe this pop-punk outfit hardly needs an introduction either, and this was certainly not their first Prague appearance. We last saw them two years ago, when they supported Sum 41 on their final farewell tour, performing in the neighbouring part of the venue.

They kicked off their set with the energetic Dumbstruck Dumbf**k, followed by tracks such as Can't Kick Up the Roots, December (Again), Motion Sickness and In Bloom. The pop-punk atmosphere spread throughout the entire hall, and it seemed as though not a single pair of feet could stay still.

During their set, the band made sure to tell us that they were looking forward to seeing us again in less than a year. They are among the confirmed acts for next year's Rock for People (2027), a fact they were more than happy to remind us of. Their appearance will mark a hat-trick, their third performance at this popular festival.

Simple Plan Speak Czech and Welcome Us into the Family…

Then it was finally time for the biggest name of the evening. And this time, there was no lengthy introduction. The opening notes of I'd Do Anything rang out, Simple Plan rushed onto the stage and immediately grabbed their instruments. The wave of nostalgic energy instantly transported us all back to our teenage years, to our bedrooms, where these songs used to blast from our Walkmans. At the end of the opening track, confetti cannons exploded, showering the dancing fans with colourful pieces that continued floating down during the following songs.

Throughout the concert, frontman Pierre Bouvier made a real effort to communicate with the audience in Czech. He welcomed fans in their native language and frequently used phrases such as "Děkuji mockrát" ("Thank you very much"). He even tried incorporating Czech expressions into ordinary conversations with the crowd, asking whether anyone had attended one of their concerts before or how long they had been fans of the band. He then welcomed everyone into their big "Simple Plan family", which, by that point, had become our family too.

Jet Lag, Summer Paradise and an Emotional Ballad Medley Among the Fans…

During Jet Lag, Charlotte Sands returned to the stage to perform the female vocals originally sung by Natasha Bedingfield. The set also featured hits such as Addicted, Your Love Is a Lie, Last One Standing and the iconic Welcome to My Life. The songs were occasionally accompanied by CO2 cannons, music videos or lyrics projected onto the screen behind the band, adding to the atmosphere.

The band then properly introduced themselves before taking us on a summer holiday with Summer Paradise. Huge inflatable balls bounced through the audience. All we had to do was close our eyes and imagine palm trees and a refreshing sea breeze.

Then the lights went down. Pierre moved to a smaller stage near the sound desk, sat down at the piano and delivered an emotional acoustic version of Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?). Afterwards, he stepped away from the piano and continued with a ballad medley featuring Crazy, Perfect World, Save You and This Song Saved My Life. During the medley, he left the small stage and made his way into the stands. Walking between the rows, he shook hands with fans and sang directly to them, creating what must have been an unforgettable experience, not only for those lucky enough to be standing right beside him. According to available sources, the band performs Untitled at some shows and the ballad medley at others. However, Prague seems to have been an exception, as we were treated to both.

Party Anthems, Scooby-Doo, a Hockey Jersey and a Drummer Diving into the Crowd…

The set continued with songs including Astronaut and a special party medley combining the choruses of All Star, Sk8er Boi and Mr. Brightside. The entire arena was jumping, and the atmosphere was an absolutely electrifying rush of dopamine. Then it was time to put all those Scooby-Doo costumes to good use during What's New Scooby-Doo?. Fans who had arrived dressed as the famous cartoon dog were invited onto the stage to dance with the band. The result was an absolutely crazy spectacle.

Towards the end of the main set, the band also performed Where I Belong. It did not take long, however, for the audience to cheer them back onto the stage. After all, there was no way they could leave without playing the classic I'm Just a Kid. And it was during this song that one of the band's favourite traditions took place, a moment they simply cannot resist repeating. Chuck left his drum kit, with Pierre taking his place behind the drums. Meanwhile, Chuck changed into a Czech ice hockey jersey, the band posed for a final photograph with the crowd, and then he jumped straight into the audience. The jersey had no number on it, and according to some sources, he may even have received it directly from fans. The evening finally came to an end with the melodic Perfect.

We Want Another Dose of Nostalgia…

The band made sure to thank Prague and promised that we would see each other again soon. We can only hope that their next appearance might be at Rock for People next year. With Neck Deep and blink-182 already confirmed, adding Simple Plan to the line-up would create an absolutely incredible pop-punk combination. And there is another reason to keep our fingers crossed. The band will not be too far away, as they are scheduled to appear at the German festivals Rock im Park and Rock am Ring around the same time. For now, though, this remains nothing more than speculation and a wish shared by many fans.

We would like to thank the band for continuing to show Prague so much love and for including us among their tour stops. These days, that is certainly not something we can take for granted. We are grateful that this concert happened and that we had the chance to be part of such a nostalgic pop-punk evening. Hopefully, we will see them again soon.

Šári