For the second year in a row, pop-punk is taking over Las Vegas. The When We Were Young Festival is bringing another slew of emo and pop-punk acts from the mid/late aughts to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Oct. 21 and 22, from Yellowcard to Rise Against to Green Day.

"Fat Lip" rockers Sum 41 are one of the 55 artists playing this year's iteration of WWWY, which will mark two of the Canadian group's final shows (in May, they announced they'll be disbanding after their current tour commitments). Though they've been touring for nearly 30 years, frontman Deryck Whibley tells GRAMMY.com that the front row "looks the same as it did in 2001."

"This music speaks to a younger generation, and the new generation always gets into it," he says. "There's just something about this kind of music that is youthful and exciting, and there's energy there. I think it's always going to be here."

In celebration of the 2023 iteration of When We Were Young Fest, Whibley put together a playlist of 15 songs by his fellow performers, including the Offspring, Blink-182 and the Ataris. Whether or not you're headed to Las Vegas, get your dose of pop-punk nostalgia on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or Pandora.

Remembering When We Were Young: Avril Lavigne, Jimmy Eat World & More Bands Reflect On The Peak Of Emo & Hardcore Ahead Of Vegas Fest

While in a studio, Andrew Watt bounces off the walls. Just ask Mick Jagger, who once had to gently tell the 33-year-old, "Look, I can deal with this, but when you meet Ronnie and Keith, you have to dial it down a little bit."

Or ask Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard. "He really got the best out of [drummer] Matt [Cameron] just by being excited — literally jumping up and down and pumping his fist and running around," he tells GRAMMY.com.

As Watt's hot streak has burned on, reams have rightly been written about his ability to take a legacy act, reconnect them with their essence, and put a battery in their back. His efficacy can be seen at Music's Biggest Night: Ozzy Osbourne's Patient Number 9 won Best Rock Album at the 2023 GRAMMYs. At the last ceremony, the Rolling Stones were nominated for Best Rock Song, for Hackney Diamonds' opener "Angry."

On Pearl Jam's return to form, Dark Matter, due out April 19. Who was behind the desk? Take a wild guess.

"You want to see them live more than you want to listen to their albums, and they have the ability to look at each other and play and follow each other. I don't like my rock music any other way, as a listener," Watt tells GRAMMY.com. "All my favorite records are made like that — of people speeding up, slowing down, playing longer than they should."

As such, Watt had a lightbulb moment: to not record any demos, and have them write together in the room. "They're all playing different stuff, and it makes up what Pearl Jam is, and singer Eddie [Vedder] rides it like a wave."

If you're more of a pop listener, there's tons of Watt for you — he's worked with Justin Bieber ("Hit the Ground" from Purpose), Lana Del Rey ("Doin' Time" from Norman F—ing Rockwell) and much more. Read on for a breakdown of big name rockers who have worked with Andrew Watt.

Pearl Jam / Eddie Vedder

Watt didn't just produce Dark Matter; he also helmed Vedder's well-received third solo album, Earthling, from 2022. Watt plays guitar in Vedder's live backing band, known as the Earthlings — which also includes Josh Klinghoffer, who replaced John Frusciante in the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a stint.

The Rolling Stones

Dark Matter was a comeback for Pearl Jam, but Hackney Diamonds was really a comeback for the Stones. While it had a hater or two, the overwhelming consensus was that it was the Stones' best album in decades — maybe even since 1978's Some Girls.

"I hope what makes it fresh and modern comes down to the way it's mixed, with focus on low end and making sure the drums are big," Watt, who wore a different Stones shirt every day in the studio, has said about Hackney Diamonds. "But the record is recorded like a Stones album."

Where there are modern rock flourishes on Hackney Diamonds, "There's no click tracks. There's no gridding. There's no computer editing," he continued. "This s— is performed live and it speeds up and slows down. It's made to the f—ing heartbeat connection of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Steve Jordan.

"And Charlie," Watt added, tipping a hat to Watts, who played on Hackney Diamonds but died before it came out. "When Charlie's on it."

Iggy Pop

Ever since he first picked up a mic and removed his shirt, the snapping junkyard dog of the Stooges has stayed relevant — as far as indie, alternative and punk music has been concerned.

But aside from bright spots like 2016's Josh Homme-produced Post Pop Depression, his late-career output has felt occasionally indulgent and enervated. The 11 songs on 2023's eclectic Watt-produced Every Loser, on the other hand, slap you in the face in 11 different ways.

"We would jam and make tracks and send them to Iggy, and he would like 'em and write to them or wouldn't like them and we'd do something else," Watt told Billboard. "It was very low pressure. We just kept making music until we felt like we had an album." (And as with Pearl Jam and Vedder's Earthlings band, Watt has rocked out onstage with Pop.

Ozzy Osbourne

You dropped your crown, O Prince of Darkness. When he hooked up with Watt, the original Black Sabbath frontman hadn't released any solo music since 2010's Scream; in 2017, Sabbath finally said goodbye after 49 years and 10 (!) singers.

On 2020's Ordinary Man and 2022's Patient Number 9, Watt reenergized Ozzy; even when he sounds his age, Ozz sounds resolute, defiant, spitting in the face of the Reaper. (A bittersweet aside: the late Taylor Hawkins appears on Patient Number 9, which was written and recorded in just four days.)

Maroon 5

Yeah, yeah, they're more of a pop-rock band, but they have guitars, bass and drums. (And if you're the type of rock fan who's neutral or hostile to the 5, you shouldn't be; Songs About Jane slaps.)

At any rate, Watt co-produced "Can't Leave You Alone," featuring Juice WRLD, from 2021's Jordi. Critics disparaged the album, but showed Watt's facility straddling the pop and rock worlds.

5 Seconds of Summer

When it comes to Andrew Watt, the Sydney pop-rockers — slightly more on the rock end than Maroon 5 and their ilk — are repeat customers. He produced a number of tracks for 5 Seconds of Summer, which spanned 2018's Youngblood, 2020's Calm and 2022's 5SOS5.

Regarding the former: Watt has cited Youngblood as one of the defining recording experiences of his life.

"I had started working with 5 Seconds of Summer, and a lot of people looked at them as a boy band, but they're not," Watt told Guitar Player. "They're all incredible musicians. They can all play every instrument. They love rock music. They can harmonize like skyrockets in flight. They just were making the wrong kind of music."

So Watt showed 5 Seconds of Summer a number of mainstays of the rock era, like Tears for Fears and the Police. The rest, as they say, is history.

Elton John

A year after Britney Spears was unshackled from her highly controversial conservatorship, it was time for a victory lap with the God of Glitter. What resulted was a curious little bauble, which became a megahit: "Hold Me Closer," a spin on "Tiny Dancer," "The One" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" that briefly launched Spears back into the stratosphere.

"Britney came in and she knew what she wanted to do," Watt recalled to The L.A. Times. "We sped up the song a little bit and she sang the verses in her falsetto, which harkens back to 'Toxic.' She was having a blast."

Blink-182

Watt has also worked with pop/punk heroes Blink-182 — but not after Tom DeLonge made his grand return. He produced "I Really Wish I Hated You" from 2019's Nine, back when Matt Skiba was in the band.

Where in the rock world will this tender-aged superproducer strike next? Watt knows.

Songbook: The Rolling Stones' Seven-Decade Journey To Hackney Diamonds

As a founding member of the National Recording Preservation Board, the Recording Academy was instrumental in lobbying and getting the board created by Congress. Now, the Library of Congress has added new treasures to the National Recording Registry, preserving masterpieces that have shaped American culture.

The 2024 class not only celebrates modern icons like Green Day’s punk classic Dookie and Biggie Smalls' seminal Ready to Die, but also honors vintage gems like Gene Autry’s "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Perry Como’s hits from 1957. These recordings join over 650 titles that constitute the registry — a curated collection housed within the Library’s vast archive of nearly 4 million sound recordings. 

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced these additions as essential pieces of our nation’s audio legacy, each selected for their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance. This selection process is influenced by public nominations, which hit a record number this year, emphasizing the public's role in preserving audio history.

Read more: Inside Green Day's Intimate "Right Here, Right Now" Global Climate Concert In San Francisco

"The Library of Congress is proud to preserve the sounds of American history and our diverse culture through the National Recording Registry," Hayden said. "We have selected audio treasures worthy of preservation with our partners this year, including a wide range of music from the past 100 years, as well as comedy. We were thrilled to receive a record number of public nominations, and we welcome the public’s input on what we should preserve next."

The latest selections named to the registry span from 1919 to 1998 and range from the recordings of the all-Black 369th U.S. Infantry Band led by James Reese Europe after World War I, to defining sounds of jazz and bluegrass, and iconic recordings from pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin and classical music.

"For the past 21 years the National Recording Preservation Board has provided musical expertise, historical perspective and deep knowledge of recorded sound to assist the Librarian in choosing landmark recordings to be inducted into the Library’s National Recording Registry," said Robbin Ahrold, Chair of the National Recording Preservation Board. "The board again this year is pleased to join the Librarian in highlighting influential works in our diverse sound heritage, as well as helping to spread the word on the National Recording Registry through their own social media and streaming media Campaigns."

Tune in to NPR's "1A" for "The Sounds of America" series, featuring interviews with Hayden and selected artists, to hear stories behind this year’s picks. Stay connected to the conversation about the registry via social media and listen to many of the recordings on your favorite streaming service.

For more details on the National Recording Registry and to explore more about the selections, visit The Library of Congress's official National Recording Registry page.

National Recording Registry, 2024 Selections (chronological order)

1. "Clarinet Marmalade" – Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band (1919)

2. "Kauhavan Polkka" – Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl (1928)

3. Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)

4. "Rose Room" – Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian (1939)

5. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – Gene Autry (1949)

6. "Tennessee Waltz" – Patti Page (1950)

7. "Rocket ‘88’" – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (1951)

8. "Catch a Falling Star" / "Magic Moments" – Perry Como (1957)

9. "Chances Are" – Johnny Mathis (1957)

10. "The Sidewinder" – Lee Morgan (1964)

11. "Surrealistic Pillow" – Jefferson Airplane (1967)

12. "Ain’t No Sunshine" – Bill Withers (1971)

13. "This is a Recording" – Lily Tomlin (1971)

14. "J.D. Crowe & the New South" – J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)

15. "Arrival" – ABBA (1976)

16. "El Cantante" – Héctor Lavoe (1978)

17. "The Cars" – The Cars (1978)

18. "Parallel Lines" – Blondie (1978)

19. "La-Di-Da-Di" – Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D) (1985)

20. "Don’t Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (1988)

21. "Amor Eterno" – Juan Gabriel (1990)

22. "Pieces of Africa" – Kronos Quartet (1992)

23. Dookie – Green Day (1994)

24. Ready to Die – The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)

25. "Wide Open Spaces" – The Chicks (1998)

21 Albums Turning 50 In 2024: 'Diamond Dogs,' 'Jolene,' 'Natty Dread' & More

Deryck Whibley didn't know Heaven :x: Hell was going to be Sum 41's final album when he began the process of making it.

"I was just listening to it as a finished record to see how close it was to being done — and it was almost done — but I thought, 'This to me feels like a record that I could call our last record.' I feel so proud of it, and it encapsulates the entire sound of the band and everything that we've tried to do over the years. It's all in one record," he explains over Zoom from his home in Las Vegas.

To be fair, the Sum 41 frontman, 44, had spent the past five years contemplating a future without the band that has defined him since their punk rock beginnings in 1996. "I always knew if I was ever going to do something, I can't do two things at once," he explains. "I didn't ever have a date or a time — I just knew it would kind of hit me."

Amid the release of their 2001 debut album All Killer No Filler and the height of Warped Tour, Sum 41 became pop-punk pioneers of the early aughts. The five-piece — comprised of Whibley, Dave Baksh (guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom Thacker (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), and Frank Zummo (drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals) — has since released seven more albums, even earning a GRAMMY nomination in 2012 for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the song "Blood in My Eyes." Over the years, they've toured with artists including Good Charlotte, The Offspring, Mötley Crüe and many other titans in the punk and pop-punk world.

With their eighth studio album, Whibley believes it's the band's "complete work." The 20-track Heaven:x: Hell is a testament to the band's expansive punk sound throughout their nearly three-decade-long career: Heaven's 10 tracks channel the energetic pop-punk sound that brought them to the forefront of the Warped Tour scene; while Hell taps into the band's affinity for experimentation and heavier elements with bombastic riffs and explosive anthems. To culminate their tenure, Sum 41 will hit the road for a massive farewell tour, kicking off on April 19 in Omaha and concluding with their final show in their native Toronto on Jan. 30, 2025.

For Whibley, life after Sum 41 remains a question mark. Perhaps he'll work on a solo project or maybe he'll work on some scripts. Ultimately, he believes that once he's faced with the uncertainty of his own future, his heart will gravitate toward what excites him the most. "I love music," he sighs, "but I like to think that there might be something else out there."

As the end of Sum 41 approaches, Whibley reminisces on the breadth of experiences the band has had over the years. Below, he details seven of his most career-defining moments to date. 

Playing Warped Tour In 2001

We started the band by going to the first Vans Warped Tour that came through Toronto [in 1995]. All the bands that we were obsessed with at the time [were there] — NOFX, Pennywise, Face To Face, Unwritten Law, all these California punk rock bands. We were already in a band but as a different band [called Kaspir], and we just thought, This is the kind of music we listen to. This is the kind of tour we want to be on. We want to play with these bands and be like these guys. We need to start a new band. That was the moment we decided, let's start a band that could be one day on a tour like this.

So six years later, we ended up getting [on] the tour, and we became friends with a lot of those guys, like The Vandals, Pennywise. Fat Mike was on the tour. He wasn't with NOFX, but he was with another band. We used to be just watching them from the front of the stage. Now we're hanging out backstage, and we're parking our tour buses next to each other every single day on the whole tour for two and a half months, every single day. It just became this great thing. 

It was also at the same time as our first record, All Killer No Filler,was taking off and our first single, "Fat Lip," was taking off in the middle of that tour. So when we started, we were on MTV, but it wasn't a big song yet, and as the summer went on, it just got bigger and bigger. So we saw the growth happen while we were out on that tour. Everything really exploded in that summer on that tour.

Performing With Tommy Lee & Judas Priest's Rob Halford At MTV's 20th Anniversary

That was in August [2001], and we were on Warped Tour — we had to take a little break to go over to New York and do [the MTV performance]. That came last-second. When we started Warped Tour, we were on MTV, but it just started and in mid-July, ["Fat Lip" was doing really well. 

We were still a new band, but MTV asked us to come and perform at their anniversary bash, and we were going to open the show. So in our minds, we were like, "Why don't we do something cool that we've seen before?" They do collaboration stuff with like Run DMC, and Aerosmith and stuff like that. So we asked if we could do that, and they said, "Sure. Who are you thinking about?" 

We threw out a couple of names and we were like, "Let's ask Tommy Lee, let's ask Rob Halford and we'll place some of these songs." We even said, "Let's see if we can get Slash from Guns N' Roses and the Beastie Boys. Both Slash and the Beastie Boys were like, "We're not going to show up. We're not doing that thing." But Tommy and Rob were like, "F— yeah, sounds great."

So we met in New York, the night before the show, and worked on this little medley of different songs from Sum 41. We did a Beastie Boys song, we did a Mötley Crüe song, we did a Judas Priest song. We threw it together really quickly.When we opened the show, I thought we played like s—. Because when [we were]  on stage, it just didn't sound good in our monitors. It felt a little weird, and you're playing to a lot of industry people. So you don't know if people like it or not. 

We walked off stage, not really knowing if that was good or bad. But it all kind of blew up for us. When we walked off stage, the heads of MTV came by and they were just saying, like, "That was phenomenal. We're gonna have a great relationship together. You guys are the next big thing. We're gonna get behind your whole thing." 

From that moment on, our video went into heavy rotation the next morning, it went all over the world, and "Fat Lip" became a No. 1 song. It just turned into a whole thing. That next day, we flew back to the Warped Tour, and our friends — all those bands — had watched it, and everybody was like, "You guys are going to be massive. After that, nothing's gonna be the same." And it never was. Everything just took off from that moment on.

Touring With The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

We were really young — this was still in the van days — and it was only the second tour we'd ever done of America. Flogging Molly was the [other] support band. Right from day one, even though we were these kids that nobody ever heard of, both the Bosstones and Flogging Molly treated us like family. We all became this great family for this whole tour. 

We would go on the Bosstones' bus and Dicky Barrett, the singer, taught us all how to play dice and gamble. He took all our money every single night. He didn't even care that we were completely broke kids in a van who barely had $20 between all of us. We lost, he took it all. [Laughs] 

Watching [the Bosstones] every night was also such a learning experience. They would get in all their suits, and they all went out on stage. [Dicky] had a character. He's a character off stage, but he even had more of a heightened character on stage. He had banter and bits that he would do every single night. And I realized, "Oh it's a show. You're putting on a real show." It's not just off the cuff — he put some time and effort into making it entertaining. 

The other thing that was memorable about that tour was Dicky and I both kind of had a similar hairstyle, and within like five or six shows, all of a sudden, he started calling me his son. People thought we were related.

A couple shows into it, the Bosstones were on stage, and I kept hearing over the PA, "'Deryck, where is he? Get Deryck up here." I'm backstage, and people are saying, "Hey, Dicky's calling you out on stage.' I didn't know for what. I walked out on stage, and he goes, "There he is, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for my son." 

The whole crowd starts cheering. He does this whole bit where he's like, "I haven't seen my son in 20 years. This is my way of getting to know him, bringing him on tour." And he kept that bit up every single night to a point where if I see him, I saw him a couple of months ago, he still calls me his son. I still call him Dad. And that was from 23 years ago. He's my punk-rock dad.

Setting Their First Tour Bus On Fire

We were so used to touring in vans, and we used to tour in this old 1982 Ford Econoline that had no air conditioning, no heat or anything. It had holes in the floor, so if you were driving in the rain or the snow, all the rain and snow would come through on your feet.

So finally, we get to the point where we're big enough that we're gonna get a tour bus. We were so excited, and we were pretty young. I mean, we're like 19 or 20 years old at that point, and we used to party all the time. We thought we were like Mötley Crüe — we just partied all day all night. 

The first night that we had the bus, I said on stage, "Hey, everybody, we just got our first tour bus. After the show, we're gonna have a party, so you guys are all invited." We kept doing it every night, but that first night, there was a lineup of 1,000 people trying to get on the bus, and our tour manager was there to allow a few people on and check IDs. But our bus was crammed with people. 

We ended up partying really late, and I think one of us — it might have been me or it might have been Steve [Jocz], our drummer — was making food. It was 5 a.m., and we all passed out while the food was cooking. The toaster oven caught on fire and the whole bus filled with smoke.

Finally, it woke somebody up, and you couldn't see anything. The whole bus was filled with smoke, and this thing was on fire. Obviously, we got it out and everything, [so] then we drove. 

When we woke up the next day — probably in the afternoon — there was some random person who had passed out in the back lounge from the other city. We're now seven hours away somewhere else, so we had to wake this guy up. We were like, "We don't even know who this guy is." He's like, "Oh s—, I live in Pittsburgh." I was like, "You've got to get a train or something."[Laughs.]

Earning An MTV Music Video Award Nomination

We were so excited and nervous. We were so brand new to this whole thing, and it was also in that heyday of pop music, so really big pop superstars were there — NSYNC, Britney [Spears] and Christina [Aguilera] — they were all the big talk the whole thing. We're these kids that were just touring in a van that all of a sudden are now at these awards with all these superstars. 

I remember the night before, we went out to a bar, we did a bunch of mushrooms, and we got really drunk. Other people from the award show [were] there, too. Nikka Costa was there, and she came by our table. Somebody introduced us, and our bass player ended up vomiting all over her feet when she came over to say "hello" because he was so high and drunk at the same time.

We ended up going to the awards show the next day [where] we were up for the Best New Artist award. And I remember Alicia Keys was up for it because it was her first single, ["Fallin'"]. None of us knew much about each other. We were all brand-new artists. And she went up to go perform that song — it was before our award was announced — and she was so f—ing incredible. 

It was so amazing that instantly, I just was like, "I don't want to win this award now. After seeing that, we don't deserve it. This person deserves this award. She's clearly talented, and we're just some punk band [that] can barely play our instruments."

Then right after she was done, they said, and now the nominees for Best New Artist. The entire time I'm saying, "Please don't win. Please don't win. Please don't win." And they say, "The winner is Alicia Keys." And I was like, "Yes! Thank God it was not us."

Getting GRAMMY Recognition

One of the most unexpected phone calls I ever got was in 2011 from our manager telling me that we were nominated for our first GRAMMY. It was for a song called "Blood In My Eyes." 

Not only was it an incredible honor, but it was for a song that our record company didn't think should be recorded for our album at the time. The reason they didn't want to have it on the album was because I was taking a long time to get the recording right and they felt I was dragging the process on and on. 

I put my foot down and got the song finished and for it to have been nominated for the highest musical honor was complete validation for all the time and work I put into the making of that song.

Making Heaven :x: Hell & Announcing Their Final Tour

It's a strange "best moment" because it is the end. When we announced that this was going to be a final album [and] final tour, I was not expecting it to be anything surprising, or for many people to really care. I felt like our core fan base would be upset, but I wasn't expecting much of a reaction. It was such a bigger reaction than I could ever imagine. 

When we put [out] the tour [dates], shows were selling out, and we're adding second dates, and that was selling out. Everything just blew up into a thing that I was not expecting. 

So although it's bittersweet and sad that it's the end, in some ways, I'm happy. But I know there's a lot of people in our world that are upset by it. It was such a surprising moment for me to see how much people do care because I wasn't expecting that.

The way I work on things is that I put all my focus and energy and attention into one thing. I always knew if I was ever going to do something [other than Sum 41], I can't do two things at once, and would I ever get to a point where I'd walk away? I'm so focused on making this final tour the best it can be as a final tour. The point of this, for me, is to go try to find something new and do something different. 

So I don't really think about, "In a few years, we'll get back together." The goal is, this is a chapter I'm closing, and it's been great, but I would love to create a new chapter that's great. That's the plan. I don't know what that is. 

I think anything's possible, but it's also so possible that we never play together again. I have no plans for it. It's very possible we never get on stage together again, but I can't say "Never say never" because I don't know. Life is life, and you can't predict anything.

The State Of Pop-Punk: A Roundtable Unpacks The Genre's Past, Present And Future

Almost exactly two decades ago, Green Day traced the story of a lonely teenager, Jesus of Suburbia, in their seventh album, American Idiot. Its most notable chapter, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," earned the band Record Of The Year at the 2006 GRAMMYs.

In this episode of ReImagined, Canadian pop-punk singer LØLØ delivers her take on the song, an ethereal acoustic version.

LØLØ is a longtime fan of Green Day. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, she recalled their single "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" as the first song she learned to play. She later told idobi Radio that her 2023 track "omg" was "a bunch of intrusive thoughts jumbled into a song, wondering if I will ever be enough, or ever be as cool as Green Day."

This year, LØLØ released two original singles, "poser" and "2 of us," via Hopeless Records.

Press play on the video above to hear LØLØ's fresh rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of ReImagined.

Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later