Avril Lavigne Brings Sass and Class to Edmonton’s Rogers Place [Photos]

After Wednesday night’s less than favourable loss from the Oilers’ first Stanley Cup Battle of Alberta in 31 years, Edmonton’s spirits were lifted as Canada’s pop-punk princess, Avril Lavigne graced Rogers Place with her presence, bringing with her the upbeat and in-your-face “Bite Me Tour” with the sporadic energy of Grandson and Mod Sun leading the charge.

Looking around the arena, it was easy to see a healthy mix of folks, young and old, who either just recently became fans of Avril in 2022, or people who have been blasting her music since 2002. Needless to say, the all-ages crowd was hungry for the performance they were about to take in. As soon as the house went dark, the crowd seemed the light up. Silhouetted against a dark curtain with massive balloons in hand, Belleville’s music-mogul kicked the show off with “Cannonball” before booming into the chorus and letting the curtain fall, revealing Avril’s bombastic entrance to the show.

Adorned in modern pop-punk attire, complete with a bedazzled microphone, audience members would be remiss to not mistake her for a fashion icon if it weren’t for the way the fellow Canadian commanded the stage. Avril spoke candidly with her Edmonton audience, thanking them for giving her the opportunity to perform for them this evening, and for being able to perform an arena tour in general. The punk legend pummeled her 16-song set, including inviting her new fiancé, Mod Sun, to join her in performing “Flames,” a tune that they had written together.

Ending the night on a high note and putting a bow on the show, Avril invited the audience to turn on their phone flashlights and wave them back and forth before encouraging the audience to sing along to her arguably most popular tunes “Sk8er Boi” and “I’m With You.” Needless to say, Avril Lavigne quite easily satisfied Rogers Place’s appetite for pop-punk nostalgia on Thursday night.