Don't You Fake It 20th Anniversary Tour: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Calling All Captains, Losers Club, and Morning In May - Winnipeg, MB

Twenty years after Don’t You Fake It helped establish The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus as one of the defining names of the mid-2000s post-hardcore and alternative rock scene, the Florida band returned to Winnipeg on September 4, 2026, for a night built around nostalgia, sing-alongs, and plenty of youthful energy.

The occasion was particularly significant for local fans. It had been a staggering seventeen years since The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus last played Winnipeg, making their return feel less like another stop on a touring schedule and more like a long-overdue reunion. Adding to the sense of occasion, the Don’t You Fake It 20th Anniversary Tour also marked the first Winnipeg appearances for Morning In May and Losers Club.

With Calling All Captains rounding out the bill, the Park Theatre became a time machine of sorts, taking the audience back to the era when skinny jeans, side-swept hair, and emotionally charged post-hardcore dominated alternative music.

Morning In May. Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography

Opening the night, Morning In May made their Winnipeg debut with a brief but energetic set that gave the crowd an introduction to their sound.

Among the songs performed were "Midnights In Malibu" and their cover of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club," which provided a fun opportunity for the band to show off a different side of their performance.

As the first act of the evening, Morning In May had the unenviable task of playing to a room that was still filling in, but they nevertheless made the most of their first appearance in the city. Their set served as an effective warm-up for what would become an increasingly animated night.

Losers Club. Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography

Losers Club followed with another Winnipeg debut, bringing an energetic set that included an unexpected crowd-pleaser: a cover of The Killers' “Mr. Brightside.”

The performance became even more memorable when K from The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus joined the band onstage for the song. The collaboration was one of those spontaneous tour moments that instantly made the evening feel more communal, with members of different bands sharing the stage rather than simply moving through their individual sets.

Losers Club ultimately closed their performance with “Still Sucks,” leaving the audience primed for the next act.

Calling All Captains. Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography

Edmonton's Calling All Captains brought a heavier, more familiar presence to the evening. No strangers to a Winnipeg stage, the band even mentioned that "it was sort of like a hometown show" to them. Their set included “skin & bones,” “A New Type of Grey,” and “Chasing Ghosts,” to name a few among many others.

Their appearance helped bridge the gap between the newer acts and the headliner, delivering the kind of emotionally charged punk and post-hardcore energy that fit naturally alongside The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

For a "second hometown" crowd, Calling All Captains were a particularly fitting addition to the bill, giving Winnipeg fans an opportunity to see one of their own alongside a band many had been waiting nearly two decades to see again.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography

Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for. After seventeen long years, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus were finally back in Winnipeg and at a significantly larger venue, sold out past capacity.

Opening with “In Fate's Hands,” the band immediately demonstrated why songs from their early catalogue have endured. The opening notes were enough to transport longtime fans straight back to the mid-2000s, when Don’t You Fake It was a staple for an entire generation of alternative and post-hardcore listeners.

“Waiting” followed, before the band moved through “Slipping Through (No Kings),” “False Pretence” and “Brace Yourself.” The set balanced the band's heavier material with the melodic hooks that made them such a recognizable name in the first place.

“Damn Regret” and “Is This the Real World?” kept the momentum moving, while “Misery Loves Its Company” and “Cat and Mouse” provided some of the evening's most emotionally charged moments.

Of course, no Red Jumpsuit Apparatus show would be complete without “Your Guardian Angel.” The song remains one of the band's most enduring tracks, and hearing it performed live in Winnipeg after such a lengthy absence gave it an added sense of significance. For many in attendance, it was likely one of those songs that instantly brought back memories of where they were twenty years ago.

The band also threw in a surprise with “All the Small Things,” their cover of the blink-182 classic. The familiar pop-punk anthem was an easy crowd-pleaser, generating another massive singalong before the band launched into the song everyone had been waiting for, “Face Down.”

Few songs better encapsulate the sound and attitude of the mid-2000s post-hardcore explosion. Its instantly recognizable opening and enormous chorus transformed the Park Theatre into a collective singalong, with the crowd shouting the words back at the band. After seventeen years away, there was something especially satisfying about hearing an entire Winnipeg audience scream those words together again.

The Don’t You Fake It 20th Anniversary Tour succeeded because it wasn't simply a celebration of an album. It was a celebration of a particular moment in music—and of the people who grew up with it.

For longtime Red Jumpsuit Apparatus fans, September 4 was a chance to revisit a formative part of their musical history. For newer fans, it was an opportunity to experience songs that helped define an era performed by the band that created them.