Music
Combat Boots & Pop-Punk Cameos: Avril Lavigne’s MSG Photo Diary
They didn’t name it the Greatest Hits Tour for nothing.
Twenty years after the release of her debut album Let Go, Avril Lavigne is still packing stadiums — and making it look easy.
The pop-punk star kicked off the latest leg of her 2025 Greatest Hits Tour with a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on May 30, featuring forever-favorite anthems, the live debut of her new Simple Plan collab, and a much-shared acoustic mashup of her song “Warrior” and Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.” The tour continues across the U.S. throughout the summer before wrapping on Oct. 18 at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas.
Below, Avril Lavigne takes NYLON along for the ride, from a pre-gig tea and glam touch-ups to onstage selfies (spot the skate decks printed with her face).
“Walking into my sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.”
“Saying hi and meeting with people at the pre-show hang.”
“Doing the final touches before heading on stage.”
“Last looks.”
“Headed up the stairs to pop out onstage — here we go.”
“I always love playing guitar during my sets.”
“I changed up my set for this second leg and added in an acoustic story time, where I do a couple covers and go in-depth about the songs.”
“I brought Simple Plan out on my first tour in 2003 — it’s amazing to get to do it again with them 20-plus years later. We have a new song together called ‘Young & Dumb.’”
“Every night during ‘Young & Dumb,’ Simple Plan and I bring fans onstage. It’s always wild and makes for such a special moment.”
“The crowd was so loud singing back to me.”
“My amazing costume designer, Aston Michaels, made me these custom boots with all my logos from over the years.”
“Lighting up MSG during the encore.”
“I’m obsessed with this new encore look Ashton made. He does all my stage looks — not only is he an amazing part of the team, he’s also a great friend.”
Photography by Skyler Barberio
