The live music never stops in Toronto during the summer months, even on a Sunday. Fans of all ages made their way down to the Budweiser Stage for a fun night of ’90s hard rock. The Goo Goo Dolls Summer Anthem Tour 2025 made its first and only Canadian stop on this leg, with special guests Dashboard Confessional.
Goo Goo Dolls – Summer Anthem Tour 2025
Budweiser Stage, Toronto – 10 August 2025
Words: Taylor Cameron
Promptly, at 7:30 pm, Dashboard Confessional, Boca Raton, Florida, hit the stage. From fan favourites Vindicated and Stolen, to the newer track Southbound And Sinking, and an unreleased track called No More Bad Days, Dashboard Confessional curated the perfect setlist to pump up the crowd and plant smiles on their faces for the entire duration.
The ending took a turn when the band’s in-ear rig had some technical difficulties. Chris Carrabba did not let it affect proceedings and performed an acoustic rendition of the band’s breakout single, Screaming Infidelities. The crowd helped out on the vocals, adding a special element to the night. Dashboard Confessional were the perfect choice to open the show on this summer tour.
Goo Goo Dolls
Filled from top to bottom, Toronto music fans sold out The Budweiser Stage, giving Goo Goo Dolls a very warm welcome, figuratively and literally: it was a scorching 40 degrees Celsius outside.
Erupting into loud cheers as a spotlight beamed at the microphone stand centre stage, Johnny Rzeznik emerged from the darkness. Beginning the set with Naked, Rzeznik kicked it off solo before the stage lit up and Robby Tacak and the rest of the band joined in on the fun.
Playing an almost two-hour set filled with both new and old material, Goo Goo Dolls continue to prove that they are at the top of their game. Filled with energy, catchy guitar riffs and powerful vocals, it was definitely a show to remember. The Summer Anthem Tour was filled with nostalgia, making even someone like me, who was born in the late ’90s, feel like we were transported back in time. Music is life’s time machine.
Rzeznik commanded every inch of the stage, handling lead vocal and guitar duties with ease. His gratitude to the audience beamed on his face with every word sung back to him. Tacak’s passion for music is completely visible as he plucked each string of his bass. His youthful energy was showcased by the graffiti-style painted blue and pink bass and his purple hair.
Midset, the band left the stage, leaving Rzeznik alone with his acoustic guitar. “This next song I wrote when I was trying to get sober because I’m a fucking alcoholic,” he said, “and that’s all there is to it. I was alone in a room trying to get my shit together, and thankfully, I had a guitar. I came out not quite sober, but I got a great song out of it.”
The crowd cheered as Rzeznik kicked into Sympathy. The slowed-down acoustic portion of the set was a true highlight of the night, which also included Acoustic #3 and the first half of Name.
Rzeznik’s musical talents shone brightly, him and his guitar being the perfect duo. He made the 16,000 capacity amphitheatre feel like an intimate room as he connected with what felt like everyone in the audience; the authenticity in Goo Goo Dolls lyrics is unmatched.
Tacak took over on lead vocals for both Life’s A Message and Bringing On The Light, two more recent tracks in their catalogue that still match the same energy and magic that their early albums contain. The audience danced and sang along with the bassist, revelling in their enjoyment of everything Goo Goo Dolls had to offer.
Broadway, a track off of their popular 1998 album Dizzy Up The Girl, closed out the set before the stage went dark. Loud cheers could be heard from the GA pit at the front of the stage, all the way to the back of the lawn of the amphitheatre, the crowd not wanting the night to end.
Within minutes, the band were back on the stage playing Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes), followed by a cover of Tom Petty’s You Wreck Me.
The night ended with the band’s signature song, one of the best-selling singles of all time, Iris. Everyone across the amphitheatre sang along to every word that left Rzeznik’s lips as they held their phones up in the air, lighting up the venue with the flashlights. Iris is a track that was made to be played live, a track that will give you goosebumps as you take in every beautiful lyric.
It was the absolute perfect way to end an incredible night of live music in which both Dashboard Confessional and Goo Goo Dolls brought everything they had to the stage. 
