Tom DeLonge thanks Matt Skiba for keeping blink-182 “alive and thriving in my absence”

Now the dust has ever-so-slightly (but not really) settled on the announcement of the reunion of blink-182 and Tom DeLonge, the frontman has taken to social media to thank Matt Skiba for filling in for two albums.

Though the Alkaline Trio vocalist/guitarist is yet to publicly address the situation and his departure, Tom has sent Matt a note (both publicly and privately) to thank him for “all that you have done to keep the band alive and thriving in my absence”.

“I think you are enormously talented (I still love to listen to your band to this day),” Tom writes to Matt. “You have always been so kind to me, not only in the press, but also to others. I really noticed. Emotions between the three of us in blink have always been complicated, but Mark’s cancer really put things in perspective.

“But to be honest, the band would not even be here today if it were not for your ability to jump in and save the day. So from my heart to yours, thank you for being a member of our band.”

See it below:

Catch blink with Tom at the following upcoming dates:

March 2023

11 Tijuana, MX – Imperial GNP (Festival)
14 Lima, Peru – Estadio San Marcos+
17-19 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Lollapalooza Argentina (Festival)
17-19 – Santiago, Chile – Lollapalooza Chile (Festival)
21-22 – Asuncion, Paraguay – Venue TBA
23-26 – Bogotá, Colombia – Estereo Picnic (Festival)
24-26 – São Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brasil (Festival)
28 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes+

April 2023

1-2 – Monterrey, MX – Venue TBA

May 2023

4 St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center*
6 Chicago, IL – United Center*
9 Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena*
11 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena*
12 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre*
16 Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse*
17 Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena*
19 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden*
20 Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena*
21 Boston, MA – TD Garden*
23 Washington, DC – Capital One Arena*
24 Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center*
26 Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Arena*
27 Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium*
28 Atlantic City, NJ – Adjacent Music Festival

June 2023

14 Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center*
16 Los Angeles, CA – Bank of California Stadium*
20 San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena*
22 San Jose, CA – SAP Center*
23 Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center*
25 Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena*
27 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena*
29 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place*
30 Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome*

July 2023

3 Denver, CO – Ball Arena*
5 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center*
7 Austin, TX – Moody Center*
8 Houston, TX – Toyota Center*
10 Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena*
11 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – FLA Live Arena*
13 Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena*
14 Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center*
16 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena*

September 2023

2 Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro^
4 Belfast, UK – SSE Arena^
5 Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena^
8 Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis^
9 Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena^
12 Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena^
13 Stockholm, Sweden – Avicii Arena^
14 Oslo, Norway – Spektrum^
16 Berlin, Germany – Mercedes-Benz Arena^
17 Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena^
19 Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena^
20 Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle^

October 2023

2 Lisbon, Portugal – Altice Arena^
3 Madrid, Spain – Wizink Centre^
4 Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi^
6 Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena^
8 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome^
9 Paris, France – Accor Arena^
11 London, UK – The O2^
12 London, UK – The O2^
14 Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena^
15 Manchester, UK – AO Arena^
21 Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Festival

February 2024

9 Perth, Western Australia – RAC Arena!
11 Adelaide, South Australia – Entertainment Centre!
13 Melbourne, Victoria – Rod Laver Arena!
16 Sydney, New South Wales – Qudos Bank Arena!
19 Brisbane, Queensland – Entertainment Centre!
23 Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena!
26 Christchurch, NZ – Christchurch Arena!

+ = with Wallows
* = with Turnstile
^ = with The Story So Far
! = with Rise Against

Read this: Tom DeLonge: My life in 10 songs