Sophia Michaels
Avril Lavigne and All Time Low took the stage in Las Vegas at the When We Were Young Festival for a cover of Blink-182‘s “All The Small Things” on Sunday. ATL frontman Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat jumped on stage with the “Sk8er Boi” singer for a nostalgic homage to the Nineties rock band. Naturally, the crowd knew every word and was right on cue with the lines.
Lavigne’s performance joined a stacked lineup of emo and rock bands, including headliners Paramore and My Chemical Romance, Bright Eyes, and Jimmy Eat World. The show followed a difficult start for the festival, which was forced to cancel its entire first day due to a high wind warning in the area.
Fan footage shows a leather-clad Lavigne and Gaskarth rocking out with the audience.
The news of the first-day cancelation came after event organizers announced additional dates — Sunday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 29 — due to solid ticket sales, and added that Sunday’s forecast “looks sunny without any wind advisories.” Organizers also shared their disappointment with fans for being forced to cancel its first date: “We know many of you traveled to the area to have a spectacular day with your favorite bands and have been looking forward to this day for months. We were equally as excited and are devastated to have to share this news.”
The rest of the weekend appeared to be a success, and along with Lavigne’s memorable performance, another notable moment included Paramore’s live debut of “All I Wanted.” The first-ever live performance of Paramore’s beloved track came 13 years after the song’s initial release.
Plans for the When We Were Young festival 2023 have already been announced and the anticipated festival will host the newly-reunited Blink-182, Green Day, Sum 41, Simple Plan, and Yellowcard, among other emo/pop-punk titans.
