A Day To Remember: ‘For The First Time Since 'Homesick,' The Most Unpredictable Thing We Could Do Was A Breakdown On Every Bridge’

Following the release of their eighth album, A Day To Remember will return to Australia with Papa Roach on their Big Rock Tour. Lead vocalist Jeremy McKinnon sits down with The Music to chat about the tour and the year that’s been.  

A Day To Remember

There aren’t too many bands that can confidently pull off pop-rock, metalcore and even the faintest hint of country without sounding disjointed or confused, but A Day To Remember have spent the better part of two decades proving that those lines don’t need to exist. Their latest studio album, Big Ole Album Vol. 1, is evidence that they’re still willing to challenge expectations.

What is perhaps most impressive is that this approach no longer feels like a conscious effort to reinvent themselves, but rather an extension of who they are as a band heading into 2026.

After years of navigating trends, criticism, and a constantly shifting music industry, A Day To Remember sound comfortable in their own skin. They’ve got a newfound confidence that allows them to take risks while remaining grounded enough to know exactly what resonates with their audience.

Hot off the heels of the album’s release and following their Knotfest Australia slot in early 2025, A Day To Remember have announced that they’re coming back to Australia in 2026 with Papa Roach as part of their Big Rock Tour.

In the wake of the tour announcement, lead vocalist Jeremy McKinnon sat down with The Music via Zoom to talk through the excitement surrounding the tour, reflect on the relatively reinvigorating year that has been, and unpack why Big Ole Album Vol. 1 feels like a pivotal moment for the band.

Released in February 2025, Big Ole Album Vol. 1 initially arrived in a way that felt almost radical by today’s standards: available exclusively on physical formats for its first month, before landing on streaming and digital platforms the following month.

In an industry currently dominated by algorithms, playlists, and first-week streaming numbers, it was a bold and unique approach that immediately sparked conversation among fans and fellow artists alike.

“I gotta tell you, man, it was cool,” McKinnon says, straight to the point and beaming. “You got this petri dish of people who received it the exact way you intended, and that's just not what happens in the internet world anymore.

“The people who care get it right, along with the people who want to see you fall on your face, but this was only the people who cared enough to get in their car and get that record. And to all those people, who are the basis of our super fan group, it was unanimously loved. It just was this amazing two weeks where these people had a special moment with it, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything.”

And though it did have a slight impact on those first-week streaming numbers, the band isn’t focusing on that this time around, with McKinnon backing their unique release decision.

“I do think it achieved its purpose,” he shares. “A Day To Remember has been a band for over twenty years now, and we just felt like at some point, regardless of how you feel about some bands, you just aren’t looking at every waking moment of their life—we wanted to cut through the noise of today and stand out from the way people usually release their albums right now… everybody was instantly just so excited about it.”

This idea led the band down a path that feels increasingly rare: making fans physically show up.

This sense of occasion carried through once the album was finally in fans’ hands. For McKinnon, the most rewarding part of the experience was seeing how the record was received when stripped of online noise and instant commentary. Releasing the album physically first also meant fans were listening to it front-to-back, exactly as intended- no shuffle, no skipping. That reality resulted in a lot of time and little overthinking when it came to sequencing the record.

“We always try to put some thought into that, but specifically this album, we put more thought into it than usual. I remember there were weeks I spent with [producer and songwriter] Drew Fulk just going back and forthabout our thoughts about how it plays as a whole.”

What they didn’t anticipate, however, was just how liberating this listening experience would feel for fans. “These people were experiencing it in this special way because there was no outside noise. There’s nobody to tell you, ‘This is good; this is bad.’ It’s only what you think of it.”

While a physical release might sound like no big deal to some, for many younger folk, it’s a foreign concept. Many of the fans who showed up on release day had never experienced a physical-first release or in-store signings before.

“We had young people showing up to these events and being like, ‘Man, I only heard about this happening for people, and we never got to experience that,’” McKinnon recalls. “So, it was this really cool thing where we got to experience this different time in life and that was mind-blowing for us because we've been a band through all of the phases of the music industry so we've seen every wave of it, so it was cool to see these younger kids have this like awesome experience and be like, ‘Man, I wish more bands would do something like this.’”

This desire to bridge generations extends beyond the album itself into A Day To Remember’s upcoming Australian tour, where they join forces with Papa Roach. The Big Rock Tour will see the bands hit Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland in April this year.

On paper, it’s a pairing that might seem unusual to some, but for McKinnon, it feels like a natural fit.

“We actually have toured before, in the United States, years ago, and that was one of the best tours we ever did,” he explains. “It was perfect. They bring a fan group that likes our band, that knows our band, but is a little bit different- the age group is beyond our fan base.”

That difference, he says, is exactly what makes it work so well. “It ends up filling out spots in the room that our fans don't want as much. Our fans want all the movement sections; their fans want seats. So it's just like this perfect pairing. Our fans like them, their fans like us.”

Having already seen how well it translated overseas, bringing the tour to Australia felt like an easy decision. “It just worked so well in the United States,” McKinnon says. “So, it just made so much sense when we were talking about going to Australia again.”

McKinnon is equally enthusiastic about the addition of French metalcore outfit LANDMVRKS. “We're also excited about LANDMVRKS. We love that band. We got to play a bunch of festival shows this year with them in Europe, and they're an amazing band as well, so come out and check it out.”

A Day To Remember were flexing different muscles when it came to Big Ole Album Vol. 1—it’s fun, and it’s sharp without being pretentious, a fine balance that was made possible by their 2021 record You’re Welcome, McKinnon explains.

“With You’re Welcome, we kind of just said, ‘We're just going to write anything and everything we're inspired to write… We’ll see what people accept from us and what they won't accept from us.’ That ended up being that album.”

Their willingness to experiment ultimately opened the door for them, with McKinnon adding, “Because we did all these different things than we have previously done, it set us up. For the first time since a record like Homesick, it felt like the most unpredictable thing we could do was to go back to doing a breakdown on every bridge. We haven't done that since Homesick because it just felt like that would be too predictable.

“With this record and how we set it up, it kind of felt like that would be the most surprising thing to do. Because of that, these are the songs that were created, and it was a lot of fun to make it.”

Australia got to witness the fun they had creating this record firsthand when the band touched down for their Knotfest headline performance, which happened to coincide with the album’s release. Squeezing in some exclusive in-store signings alongside playing shows, they, in return, got to see how their Australian fanbase responded to the record.

This response felt particularly meaningful given their long-standing relationship with Australia. A Day To Remember has built a fiercely loyal local following that has grown alongside them through multiple sonic shifts and milestones.

Seeing Australian fans embrace the record in an intentional, old-school way reinforced that connection. It’s a reminder that while the industry continues to change at a rapid pace, genuine fan engagement is rooted in shared experiences, live moments and honest music, and it’s a rare gift.

Spending so many months on the road causes time to warp, with dates and cities blurring into each other in hindsight. After a reminder about their brief Aussie visit, McKinnon laughs and says, “Wow, that was release week! We were doing those signings in the shops. It feels so, so long ago, but like yesterday at the same time.”

Of course, Big Ole Album Vol. 1 heavily implies a sequel, something which McKinnon unofficially announced during the band’s Warped Tour set in November. Taking a break from recording the second volume to chat, he shared a small glimpse into how Vol. 2 is shaping up.

“We're approaching it with the same lens that we did Vol. 1,” he says. “There were a few songs left over that I was really happy with that are going to make it on volume two, and then we're going to round it out with some more songs that we're working on currently.”

Similarly to Vol. 1, there’s no pressure to rush the process. “We don't have any set date or, you know, a target for this yet. We’re very much still in the creation process. But yeah, we're excited about it, and I think people will be happy when it's done.”

And if Vol. 1 is anything to go by, and it sounds like it very much is, the bar is set high for Vol. 2—a bar that we have no doubt they’ll reach with ease.

As our conversation winds down, it’s clear that A Day To Remember are thriving in this current era.

Leaning into physical releases and prioritising connection over metrics, they’re focusing on creating the kind of music they want to make, without an agenda—a mindset shift that yields the most authentic art. As they prepare to return to Australia with Papa Roach and LANDMVRKS, the band is feeling creatively refreshed and is locking in on giving their all to their Aussie fans.

A Day To Remember will return to Australia in April 2026. Tickets are available now.

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