Simple Plan comes home for the holidays with special Montreal benefit concert
Posted December 16, 2025 10:12 pm.
Last Updated December 16, 2025 10:56 pm.
Simple Plan comes home for the holidays, bringing their annual benefit concert back to Montreal with a one-night-only show at the Beanfield Theatre on Tuesday night.
The intimate concert marked the return of a beloved holiday tradition — and a major milestone for the band’s charitable work. The Simple Plan Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, marking two decades of supporting young people in need across Canada.
A rare and deeply personal performance
The crowd was treated to a rare musical experience, as Simple Plan performed its 2004 album Still Not Getting Any… in its entirety — only the second time the band has done so in its more than 20-year career.
“It’s a beautiful Simple Plan Foundation event where we’re going to be playing our second album from top to bottom. Very unique event,” guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre said ahead of the show. “I think we’ve only done this once in the twenty-plus years.”
Lefebvre said the album-focused set was chosen to offer fans a unique experience they rarely get to see live.
“We always try to come up with a cool concept for these events,” he said. “We’ll be on tour, and we’ll play like three or four songs from this album. So there are seven unplayed songs, and we’re playing them all tonight. So that’s very special.”
Twenty years of impact
Founded in 2005, the Simple Plan Foundation focuses on three key pillars: supporting youth facing major life challenges such as mental health struggles, addiction, and poverty; assisting social and medical organizations helping ill or disabled children and teens; and promoting access to music education and music therapy programs.
Over the last 20 years, the foundation has donated more than $3 million to charitable organizations across Canada.
“So far, the foundation has donated back over $3 million, which is something. It’s not something we could have imagined when we started this project 20 years ago. And it’s beautiful to see everybody that we’ve been able to help along the years,” Lefebvre said.
Drummer Chuck Comeau said the decision to bring the benefit concert back this year was driven by both momentum and meaning.
“With the pandemic, it was tough for our foundation to try to raise money,” Comeau said. “We’ve been back touring for the last two, three years full-time. It’s going really well. And we just wanted to bring back the tradition. Honestly, it just felt right. We had a hugely successful year, and it felt like, you know what? Let’s come back home for the holidays. Let’s do something special. Let’s give back, and let’s bring back that tradition that our fans have been asking for.”
Music as a lifeline
Comeau said the foundation’s mission has always been rooted in the belief that music can change — and even save — lives.
“We try to promote a lot of musical programs that try to bring instruments to people that maybe can’t afford it. And also, like, a lot of — like all the music therapy programs in hospitals, because we really believe music can save lives. And that’s what this foundation tries to help with, is to try to help with music. I think it’s powerful.”
He said the foundation supports programs that provide instruments to youth who cannot afford them, as well as music therapy programs in hospitals.
“When you’re lucky in life, when you’re privileged, I think it’s a little bit of your duty to try to help and give back,” Comeau said. “We’ve met a lot of people that are going through really tough times, and music is like a lifeline for them. It’s what sort of, a lot of the time, keeps them alive, which is kind of crazy to say that. But we hear that so much. At first, I really didn’t believe it. I thought they were exaggerating. And then when you hear it like 10 times, a hundred times, a thousand times — when you read all these letters — you realize that music can really have that kind of impact. So we just wanted to go even further. It’s great to write songs for people, and it helps them, but it’s even more special to do something concrete like that — like, you know, raising money and actually helping them.”
He added that the impact becomes most real when the band meets people directly helped by the foundation.
“When we do these events, we invite all the organizations that we help, and we meet the people. They bring a lot of people that, you know, have received some support from the foundation, and we actually see firsthand people that tell us, like, ‘Hey, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to learn an instrument. I was able to, you know, have food on my table.’ And that’s when it really hits home for us,” he said. “I think when we actually do these events, and we meet people, it makes you want to keep going because you actually see the impact that it has in the real world — not just abstract, like, ‘Oh, we gave this much,’ and the numbers. It’s more one-on-one. So I think that keeps you really motivated to keep going and keep growing it.”
A hometown atmosphere
The Montreal crowd also welcomed special guests Les Trois Accords, adding to the celebratory hometown feel of the night. Lefebvre said the smaller venue created a unique atmosphere rarely found on arena tours.
“It feels more like we’re just hanging out with friends at a Christmas party,” he said. “There’s just a camaraderie here in Montreal that we get, especially when we play these smaller venues.”
The band also leaned into the holiday spirit, performing a Christmas song and keeping the tone loose and intimate.
“There’s a little bit of a looseness that’s really like a good time,” Comeau said. “It’s intimate.”
Giving back through music
Proceeds from the concert went directly to the Simple Plan Foundation, which also raises funds by donating one dollar from every ticket sold on the band’s headline tours worldwide.
“The Montreal crowd has always been very generous. Our fans, ever since we started the foundation, have been wanting to get involved and help in any way that they can. So doing this event for them and for the foundation is beautiful,” Lefebvre said.
For Lefebvre, the night was about more than music or milestones.
“What it means for me to give back — it’s what keeps you grounded,” he said. “We have these crazy, beautiful lives where we travel the world and we play shows in front of a lot of people. And then when you meet someone — a fan or someone completely removed from the band — that for some reason we’ve been able to touch and move them and help them in any way, that kind of brings you back to a very human level of, ‘Hey, I’m just someone doing something for someone else.’ And that’s how it touches me.”
The message of the evening was clear — celebrating music and giving back can go hand in hand.
“A lot of people wonder how they can help the community. What can they do to give back? Well, going to a show, it turns out, is a good way to give back,” Lefebvre said.
