A report on the 2025 All Your Friends Festival featuring Simple Plan, Rise Against, Avril Lavigne and more

[Stephane Dubord was up at Burl’s Creek North of Toronto for the two-day event. – AC]

“It was never a phase!” belted out Simple Plan’s Pierre Bouvier to a rapturous crowd. And clearly, that not only applies to the genre of music but can also be said of the All Your Friends festival itself, which capped off a second successful edition last weekend.

In comparison to the inaugural edition, the lineup might have been slightly lighter, and the turnout slightly smaller, but organizers learned some valuable lessons that were applied this year. Most significantly, the stages were MUCH closer together, rather than the near kilometer separation from the original, which made the march back and forth noticeably easier for fans wanting to see every minute of every performance, which last year was virtually impossible.

That said, some things didn’t change: the hot commodity merch selling out on Day 1, the distracting drones getting (admittedly incredible) footage for their promo reels on social media, artists making their first appearances in Canada in over a decade, and the communal feeling and overall good vibe of the crowds. And the mega-guitar.

Day 1 kicked off on a slightly damp field (thanks to the morning rain) with performances by Newfoundlander Ash Molloy and Toronto’s Stuck On Planet Earth, on top of a Rick and Morty bus. No, that’s not a typo. The animated series were part of the many “activations” at the festival, which for the most part were well done and not overly intrusive. With exception to one sponsor which attempted an ill-fated skit between sets that fell absolutely flat. Thankfully it was not repeated.

The stage lineups kicked off with Faber Drive on the second stage, and the West Coasters set the tone with plenty of early 2000 hits. Now that they’re attempting to crossover into country, in hindsight, it’s blatantly obvious their rock ballads like “When I’m With You” and “Tongue Tied” were always meant to be country anthems.

First to take to the main stage were Nashville’s Winona Fighter. The pop-punk trio epitomized what any festival would want from an opener: super catchy songs played with infectious energy and intensity. Making their Canadian debut, they were also the first of many bands to comment on the fact the row of food trucks that lined the back end of the festival grounds featured a comical number of poutine trucks (four of the six). A stark reminder for any performer which country they were in.

Next up, Four Year Strong took to the second stage, drawing fans back amidst the trees with their pop/melodic take on hardcore. While many artists of their prime years had long stretches on hiatus, the Massachusetts band has remained active, releasing new music every few years and constantly touring on the strength of seminal hits “Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)” and “We All Float Down Here”.

Adding some much needed Canadian content to the day, legendary Toronto emo band Moneen took to the main stage, with lead singer Kenny Bridges covering every single inch of space (including by barrel roll) throughout the high-energy set. Bridges, who also performs with Dashboard Confessional, has the sole distinction of having performed at both editions of the festival. Their status as influencers continues to this day, as the A-list side stage guests watching on included members of many of the other acts on the lineup, including The Starting Line and Underoath.

Having just completed a Canadian tour for the 20th anniversary of Are We Really Happy with Who We Are Right Now?, which Bridges confirmed had “ignited the passion” and confirmed that “we can do this again, and people want to come see our silly, weird band play.” And without confirming anything definitive, when asked about future plans and potentially new music, he did hint that “we just know that we are very much in love with being in this band, and I think there’s some cool stuff to come.”

The Starting Line’s Kenny Vasoli had to leave the side stage early, as his own band’s set was up next. Making their first Canadian appearance since they toured their last album in 2007, fans were able to finally see the Pennsylvania band performing pop-punk staples including “Island” and “The Best Of Me”.

Adding even more pop to the pop-punk mix, Boys Like Girls took to the main stage, balancing out their power pop songs by being clad in black leather (and in the case of drummer John Keefe, fur coat) rock outfits. Their catchy hooks had the entire crowd dancing along to hits “Love Drunk” and “The Great Escape”, with one couple being love drunk enough to propose on stage (and FYI: she said yes).

Cranking the pop in the mix up to 11, Aussie twins The Veronicas took the second stage by storm. Accompanied only by a solo multi-instrumentalist, the stage might have been sparse in comparison to previous acts, but they made up for it in stage presence. And while most of their hits are strictly pop, they did add an amped up cover of Tracy Bonham’s “Mother Mother” to showcase their screamo connections (including name dropping The Used).

Making a full 180 from the pop duo, the night ended with a pair of decidedly non-pop groups, first with Florida’s Underoath. The intensity of their performance quickly ramped up the crowd, which included the first major circle pit of the festival. Lead singer Spencer Chamberland’s masterful vocals, switching from clean to growl mid-song effortlessly, had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and served as the perfect appetizer for the main course.

Headlining Day 1, Chicago’s Rise Against put on a performance worthy of that top line slot. With their political punk as timely as ever, frontman Tim McIlrath provided great context to the messages, making songs like “Hero Of War” all the more poignant, and “Prayer Of The Refugee” all the more timely.

As the temperature dropped to a slightly chilly summer evening, their blistering set, including Zach Blair’s lead guitar, kept fans energized, bouncing in the many (MANY) mosh pits and crowd surfing throughout the 15 song set.

Day 2 kicked off with Con The Artist on the second stage, having the unenviable task of taking the stage with more photographers than crowd. That ratio quickly shifted as the space filled up, with the South African-Canadian’s catchy hooks brought in the early birds. He was quickly followed by Hamilton’s post-hardcore band Rarity. While it might have been a bit early for mosh pits, there were a few sightings, thanks to the intensity coming from the stage.

Launching the main stage lineup was Taylor Acorn. The Nashville based singer blends indie-pop and pop-punk roots into empowering anthems amplified by her strong vocals. Her 2025 is already off to a great start, and with appearances at Warped Tour and When We Were Young Festivals, she’s very much cementing herself in the next generation of the scene.

Going back to the previous generation, illScarlett took the second stage and packed the grove full of fans watching the locals play their hits. The veterans may not have new releases in the last decade, but they packed their set full of familiar ska-infused cuts that had the crowd singing and dancing along.

Continuing the punk energy, Chicago’s Knuckle Puck had a solid set, despite having to delay by a few minutes while illScarlett finished their set. By this point, the main stage area was impressively still packed despite the sweltering heat broiling festival goers, who sought out any inch of shade available. Singer Joe Taylor’s stage presence helped energize the wilting crowd, closing with a scream-along to emo cornerstone “No Good”.

Sadly, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus had to pull out at the last minute, but organizers managed to pull off a coup in bringing in a formidable replacement in Anberlin. The Florida alt-rock band had the second stage crowd whipped into a frenzy, with constant crowd surfing throughout their set. With a new album out this year, a 20th anniversary re-recording of their Never Take Friendship Personal album, featuring new lead singer Matty Mullins, the mix of nostalgia and newness went over perfectly with the assembled mass.

Back on the main stage, Ohio’s Relient K not only brought out their alt-rock hits, but donned Jays hats to endear themselves to the crowd. And while it could have easily been dismissed as a gimmick, lead singer Matt Thiessen’s cap was noticeably well-worn. He explained he was born in Ontario, and his dad would take him to Jays games as a kid, which brought an authenticity to the nod. Even more of a testament to his Canadian roots, Thiessen closed the band’s set with a moving solo piano cover of The Tragically Hip’s “Scared”. Consider his dual citizenship well established.

Closing out the second stage was State Champs, kicking off a pop-punk trilogy to close the festival. Albany’s pop-punk royalty are everywhere, have toured with everyone, and appeared on countless cover compilations and features. Their set perfectly captures the essence of the festival: Warped Tour veterans looking for a chance to perform for their fans, and get to see their friends play too.

One such group of friends is Simple Plan, who absolutely killed their set. They seemed like a perfect fit for this festival, which Pierre Bouvier confirmed: “When it happened last year, we thought ‘this is something we should be part of, so this year, when we were booking a bunch of stuff it was definitely on our list”.

Covering all their mega-hits, the guys also blended in plenty of surprises, such as having State Champs’ Derek DiScanio join them for their collab “Where I Belong”, throwing in a medley of Smash Mouth’s “All Star” and The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside”, or dozens of massive beach balls thrown into the crowd during “Summer Paradise”, they had fans enthralled every second of their set, culminating with Pierre Bouvier taking over drums for Chuck Comeau so he could go crowd surf during “I’m Just a Kid”.

Their set culminated with a touching rendition of “Perfect” with plenty of teary-eyed fans singing every syllable. It was a masterclass in making the most of an hour-long festival set. With a new documentary about to be released, keep an eye on this site for our review of the doc, and our chat with Pierre and Seb from the band.

Finally, festival headliner and pop punk queen Avril Lavigne took to the stage. Ripping through most of her early hits in the first half of her set, the Napanee native set the tone early, supported by her solid backing band. As a nod to Canada Day, she recalled her early breakthrough getting to perform with Shania Twain as a kid, and then fast forwarded to getting to see the Canadian country icon at these very festival grounds as part of Boots and Hearts, it was only fitting that she would perform a cover of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”.

After her newest single “Young & Dumb”, a collab with Simple Plan (who came back out to join in the performance… and toss t-shirts), the second half of the set had a decidedly less punk slant given her more recent pop ballads, but showcased that as she’s matured as an artist, her vocals have become even more powerful. An all-around great homecoming set.

And with that, All Your Friends 2025 was a wrap. A slightly scaled back version, but one that still delivered on the essence of being Canada’s own Scene nostalgia festival. Bring on 2026!