Papa Roach celebrates 25 years of ‘Infest’ with show in Halifax

Papa Roach is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its breakthrough album with a show in Halifax.

California rock band Papa Roach is celebrating 25 years of “Infest” – their breakthrough album – with the “Rise of the Roach” cross-country tour, which includes a stop in Halifax.

Frontman Jacoby Shaddix says the anniversary has given the band a moment to reflect on how far they’ve come.

“Honestly, this has been the goal since the very beginning,” Shaddix said in an interview with CTV Atlantic’s Katie Kelly. “As a teenager, I was playing air guitar in my front yard while my neighbours were laughing at me. I just said, ‘I’m going to be a rock star. I’m going to do this.’”

Papa Roach continues to chart new success. Their single “Even If It Kills Me” recently spent 10 weeks at number one on Canadian rock radio.

“It blows my mind,” said Shaddix. “That’s the longest we’ve ever had a number one in our career, so that was pretty cool.”

The band has also become known for its advocacy around mental health.

“Since the beginning of our career, our first single ‘Last Resort’… it was a cry for help,” Shaddix said.

On this tour the rockers are teaming up with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, donating $1 from every ticket sold to support CAMH’s work.

Papa Roach performs at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Dec. 10 as part of a 10-city Canadian run featuring The Used and special guests Sleep Theory.

“It’s the biggest pop rock show we brought on tour in our career. It spans the last 25 years of our music. We’re celebrating our first album and kind of digging deep in the back there and having some fun with it,” Shaddix said.

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