August 29th, 2024 – Camden, New Jersey, was on fire—though it’s the kind of inferno born from the collective nostalgia of thirty-somethings reliving their early 2000s angst. The sky was spitting drizzle like a half-hearted sob story, the kind that perfectly matches a night meant for the punk-pop princess herself, Avril Lavigne.
In this instance, the crowd was a melting pot of Hot Topic survivors, eyeliner smudgers, and people who never quite ditched their checkerboard Vans. A combination of the humidity, sweat, and something that smelled suspiciously like high school rebellion drenched the night sky.
Photos + Article by @a.j.kinney
As the lights dimmed, a roar rose from the masses—equal parts anticipation and catharsis. When Avril strutted out, looking like she’d time-traveled straight from 2003, the crowd erupted. Her opener, “Girlfriend,” hit like a sugar rush, the guitar riffs slicing through the muggy air. People were screaming along with every word as if their lives depended on it—because maybe, for a night, they did.
Lavigne’s voice was raw, real, and unfalteringly defiant. She performed all of her Greatest Hit (et al the ‘Greatest Hits’ Tour); but more so she resurrected them. “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi” had everyone swaying, as the crowd turned into a collective choir of souls lamenting love lost and life’s eternal frustrations. And when she belted out “My Happy Ending,” it felt like every broken heart in the pavilion had finally found its soundtrack. A very solid first three tunes of the night.
The stage was a neon blur, a flurry of bright lights (some of the best lighting I’ve seen this season at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion) and sound that matched the energy pulsing through the audience. Avril, never one to shy away from a rock ’n’ roll moment, ripped into “What the Hell” with the kind of sass that had people bouncing like it was their first time hearing it on MTV.
The night hit a reflective note with “When You’re Gone,” a track that saw lighters (and, more aptly, phone flashlights) flickering throughout the venue. It was a reminder that, even if we’re all a bit older now, some wounds never quite heal, and some songs never lose their edge.
Our nostalgia was in full swing by “Head Above Water,” a moment that could’ve been scripted by the gods of emo themselves. Raindrops mixed with tears—of joy, of memories, of something deeper that only a night like this can stir.
Closing with “I’m With You,” Avril left us with a reminder that, despite the years, despite the battles fought and lost, she—and we—are still here, still fighting, still screaming into the void.
As the crowd dispersed into a rather pleasant New Jersey evening, there was a sense that something had shifted. Maybe it was just the magic of live music, or maybe it was the realization that, for a few hours, we had all been allowed to step back into a simpler, more reckless time of our lives.
And in that fleeting moment, Avril was a time traveler, a memory, and a mirror, reflecting back to a generation that never really grew up—and maybe never really wanted to.
