This year’s Simple Plan Foundation’s benefit event has been a great success. First, on the press conference in the afternoon, the band presented the donations for this year: the total of $220 000 will be split between 24 organisations (in comparison to last year’s donations ($185 000), SPF donated a lot more this year).
The benefit event itself started at 4pm when the doors opened to the visitors/audience, who bought the tickets for this special occasion. The money raised from the full price of the tickets and also from the silent auction will go to the Simple Plan Foundation and will be used in next year’s donations. In total, Simple Plan Foundation has raised over $300 000 last night. After the doors opened, the members of Simple Plan have mingled among the 2000 guests to chat, sign and take pictures.
The most important part of the evening, though, was still to come. Simple Plan and the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra (consisted of 92 players) have performed a very special reendition of 15 Simple Plan songs in the course of a 2-hours-long concert. The songs included: Shut Up, Addicted, Welcome To My Life, Summer Paradise, Astronaut, Jet Lag (with Marie-Mai), I’m Just A Kid, One, Your Love Is A Lie, ending with This Song Saved My Life. Jeff Stinco said about this experience: “Tonight, playing with the Montreal Symphony orchestra was the highlight of my career.”.
The whole show has been recorded and according to the press should be soon broadcast on ARTV and Télé-Quebec.
You can check out the first photos from the event in thegallery and also below you can watch a spectacular video showing the song Astronaut performed by Simple Plan and the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra: