When it comes to festival season, one name sticks out every year. Reading & Leeds, the gruesome twosome, is a right of passage.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been fifteen years since Canadian punk rockers Sum 41 have played. But they’re set to return this year, along with the likes of headliners Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At The Disco.
“We did Reading & Leeds before, but it’s been a long time. I think the last time we did it was 2003?” Deryck Whibley begins, with an air of disbelief. “So yeah, we’re excited to be playing it again after this long! It’s a lot different now. Like, the last time we did it, it was Metallica, System of a Down, Slayer, it’s a much different bill this time.”
The world they inhabit has undoubtedly changed over the nearly two decades since they last graced Richfield Avenue. “We’re just excited to be back and playing again,” he says laughing. “We don’t really care who else is on. We’re just happy to play!”
Although they’ve spent the best part of the last two years celebrating the 2002 release of ‘Does This Look Infected?’, that won’t be making an appearance at either Reading or Leeds this month.
“We’re just going to play a bit of everything. We’re done with the ‘Does This Look Infected?’ album, and we’re going to play bits from every album,” he says. ”I don’t even know how long we have to play yet, but it won’t be just a ‘Does This Look Infected’ set.”
