It is a good time for Nickelback, as the incredible new album Everything Under The Sun is ready to be launched worldwide, with UK tour dates in the offing for next year as part of a world tour. To celebrate the run-up to the unleashing of this new opus, the band are in town to spread the word, and in amongst the festivities, bass player Mike Kroeger is chairing a knock-out contest of the ages deep in the heart of Soho.
Nickelback’s World Cup Of Rock
Karma Sanctum Soho, London – 8 October 2026
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
This was going to be an event where some of the biggest bands ever to walk the Earth battled it out to be supreme leader of the league table, a bloody and relentless battle where the mighty fell, and heroes would rise.
Co-hosted by DJ Claire Sturgess, the set-up was simple. She and Kroeger sat in front of a specially invited audience at the famed hotel, and each of the pair randomly picked one band each round to compete in a head-to-head.
With the choices an equal mix of the bass player’s picks and the top choices of the audience assembled, two cards were given out each round, pulled from a shuffled stack and the bands revealed in pairs. This was the cream of the industry, and anything could happen as Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Sex Pistols, Metallica, Nirvana, The Beatles and others were thrown into a contest savage enough to make Squid Game look like a walk in the park.
Would it be AC/DC or Guns N’ Roses who rose from the fight to get another round to prove themselves, or would Slayer crush all the opposition?
Kroeger and Sturgess are perfect as hosts, the two trading thoughts and the avuncular musician often turning to the audience members nearby to share thoughts or pull out comments when decisions were dangerously difficult.
Some of the draws drew gasps from those assembled as various camps clashed, reasons given for each of the two choices in that round to be top dog and the court of public opinion in full and fruity voice. With plenty of laughter ensuing, things heightened with each round and when the brutal clash of Zeppelin and Black Sabbath happened, there was a sense of just how serious things got.
Hotly contested and much debated, with the hosts passing decisions over to the assembled throng by way of a cheer-ometer, the final victory was won in the most apocalyptic of conflicts by Black Sabbath, the Birmingham godfathers and inventors of Heavy Metal gaining the crown.
This was not just a scrap, bitterly fought by giants, but also a chance to hear more about the dynamics of Nickelback, the new album and the plans for the future.
Like the fellow much-maligned James Blunt, the band seem to thrive on the unfair attacks and derision they suffer, dealing with it all with a great sense of humour and the best responses ever in killer albums and sold-out arenas.
For anyone looking at brotherly conflict between Mike and Chad, it was revealed that the two get on incredibly well and the four members of the band are bonded like family, the longevity of the line-up as they fast approach their twenty-second year as this formation and their thirty-second year as a band.
With bibliophile Kroeger giving some great book tips and meeting every person in the room, always smiling and with another few stories to tell, it is impossible not to hold the band to your heart, especially when they continue to produce albums as good as Everything Under The Sun.
Black Sabbath may have won the battle of the bands, but Nickelback were the ultimate victors that night, and long may they continue.
For the tour, artist presales start on Tuesday 13 October at 10am local time, with general tickets going on sale on Friday 16 October at 10am local time through Live Nation. VIP packages will also be available.
