With Linkin Park setting a countdown clock that ends on Wednesday (August 28th) and Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley teasing his own Wednesday announcement, fans naturally put the two together and assumed that Whibley would be joining Linkin Park’s lineup on some sort of reunion tour. However, that is not the case, according to the Sum 41 frontman himself.
Speculation has run rampant since Linkin Park launched the countdown clock a couple days ago, with fans assuming that the band will reunite to play festivals and headlining concerts next year. The band hasn’t toured since singer Chester Bennington tragically took his own life in July 2017, only playing a tribute concert later that year (which happened to include Whibley as one of the guest singers).
“I feel the need to dispel some current rumors,” posted Deryck on his social media accounts. “It’s been brought to my attention that many people think I could be joining a reuniting band. But I just want to say, despite popular belief, I am not joining Oasis… or Linkin Park. Or any other band for that matter.”
He continued, “I have my own ‘tour and book’ announcement that I will now move to the end of the week, ahead of [Sum 41’s farewell] U.S. tour. I do look forward to seeing whatever both these amazing bands do in the future.”
Interestingly, a press release on Whibley’s book tour already went out on Monday (August 26th). The punk singer’s memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, is set for release on October 8th. His book tour includes stops at Jersey City, New Jersey on October 8th; Boston on October 9th; Los Angeles on October 10th; and Las Vegas on October 11th.
It is unclear what further information Whibley plans to disclose in his upcoming announcement, which, as he mentioned, will now take place at the end of the week, so as not to interfere with Linkin Park’s revelation on Wednesday.
That all said, it’s understandable that Whibley’s name was attached to the potential Linkin Park reunion. In addition to performing “The Catalyst” with them at the Bennington tribute show in 2017, he also invited Linkin Park co-vocalist Mike Shinoda to join Sum 41 onstage for a performance of “Faint” at the 2018 Reading Festival (see both performances below).
Earlier this year, rumors swirled that Linkin Park were planning to reunite, with a female singer taking the place of Bennington. Fans will have to wait until Wednesday to find out the real deal.
Meanwhile, as Whibley mentioned, Sum 41 are set to kick off the final US leg of their farewell tour on September 3rd in San Francisco. Tickets for their upcoming shows are available here.
Listen to Whibley’s recent appearance on Consequence‘s Kyle Meredith With… podcast, and see his statement regarding Linkin Park and book tour poster below.
— Sum 41 (@Sum41) August 27, 2024