On Monday, January 27, 2025, Canada Life Place in London played host to an emotional celebration as veteran punk rockers Sum 41 said goodbye to fans during their final tour.
With only two performances left at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, this night marked a poignant moment for the Ajax, Ontario group as they near the end of their nearly three-decade career.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a lot of songs to play for you tonight,” frontman Deryck Whibley told the crowd.
“We’ve got a whole fucking range of emotions to go through together. We’ve got old songs to play, we’ve got really old songs to play, we’ve got the oldest fucking songs to play. And just last year, we put out a brand new record, a double album called Heaven :x: Hell. So let’s play a happy song right now,” before launching into their recent single, “Landmines.”
The upbeat vibes continued with another track from the new album.
Whibley’s energy was palpable as he soaked in the crowd’s response.
“Oh shit, it feels good to be fucking home,” he said.
“We’ve been away for too fucking long. But, of course, we’re saving the best for last, right? We’re going to play another happy song right now. Since this room is all filled with love, smiles, and fucking happiness. This song is about happy chemicals. Not those kind—I’m done with that shit. No, I’m talking about the kind that you make, not the kind that you take. This song is called ‘Dopamine.’”
Sum 41 kept the audience on their toes, seamlessly switching between tempos and moods.
“Okay, okay, no more fucking happy shit, alright?” Whibley joked.
“We’re done with the happiness. Let’s get mad, let’s get angry, let’s get tough. Alright, I can’t fake it, I’m too happy. But let’s play some heavy shit then. Do we have some metal heads here?”
The band then tore through blistering covers of Slayer’s “Raining Blood” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” followed by their own high-octane anthem, “We’re All to Blame.”
Whibley shared stories throughout the set, including a heartfelt tale about his prized guitar.
“Some of you may know the story about this guitar,” he said, holding it up for the audience to see.
“I got this guitar when I was 17 years old. I used this all through the early days of Sum 41—on tour, on Half Hour of Power, on All Killer No Filler, in the ‘Fat Lip’ video, the ‘In Too Deep’ video. So you can tell, it’s a very special guitar.
“In 2003, some fucking asshole stole this guitar from my house. For years I thought it was gone—20 years went by. I thought I would never see this fucking guitar ever again. Then one day, I said ‘fuck it,’ I’m going to try to find this fucking thing. Long story short, I just got this guitar back a couple of months ago. So if you see me smiling extra big while holding this, now you know why.”
After a fan interaction, Whibley started a crowd chant of “fuck that guy,” aimed squarely at the thief.
The nostalgia ran thick as Whibley introduced “Makes No Difference,” the band’s first single.
“Let’s go back in time a little bit—back to the ’90s,” he said.
“This next song is an important one in Sum 41 history because it’s the first song we ever released as a single. It’s the first song we ever shot a music video for. Do we have any old-school Sum 41 fans here? This song is dedicated to you.”
Following a brief encore break, Whibley returned, laughing.
“Of course we’re back. This shit’s not over yet, God damnit. We’re having too much fuckin’ fun. Remember when I said we’re going to play old songs, really old songs, and the oldest fucking songs? This next one is the oldest fucking song. It goes back to maybe Grade 10 or Grade 11.
“When we wrote this song, we thought ‘holy shit, this song’s a fucking banger.’ It stayed the best song we’d ever written until we made Half Hour of Power. Then we went on tour for a whole year, made All Killer No Filler, and still thought this song was so fucking good we had to put it on that record too.”
He grinned.
“Super fans know what I’m talking about.”
Cue the band’s classic track, “Summer.”
As the night drew to a close, the emotions thickened.
“I don’t want to forget you,” Whibley said.
“I want to remember this night.
“I speak on behalf of all of us here on stage: from the bottom of our hearts, ladies and gentlemen, we love you, we appreciate you, we thank you, and most importantly, God dammit, we’re going to fucking miss you. The Sum 41 family has been there for us through all the good times and all the fuckin’ bad times. Thank you, thank you so much.”
Whibley got candid about the challenges of attending concerts.
“We know all the fuckin’ bullshit that goes into coming to a show like this in the middle of winter—the money, the parking, the traffic, the lines. Thank you for doing all of that to be here tonight.”
The final song of the night was fitting: “One last time, let’s sing together,” Whibley urged. “One last time, let’s jump together. One last time, let’s get fucking crazy together because ladies and gentlemen, this song is called ‘In Too Deep.’”
With streamers already shot into the crowd and confetti floated to the floor, Sum 41 stood together on stage, taking a bow before disappearing backstage.
It was a moment etched in time — the end of an era.
For fans who have followed them since their outdoor gigs at places like Brock University, snapping photos with early digital cameras, or covering their final U.S. festival at Louder Than Life in Louisville last September, the journey has been unforgettable.
Sum 41’s farewell tour has been anything but a mere greatest hits victory lap.
Supporting a new album with fresh energy and passion, they’ve shown the same intensity that defined their career.
Much like an athlete who retires on top after winning a championship, Sum 41 leaves on their own terms — with class, dignity, and a lot of heart.
We’re going to miss these guys.
Here are some photos from their London performance, along with some shots of the opening bands, fellow punk rockers PUP and Gob:
