Green Day's Coachella Performance Brings a Big Surprise Audio Ink Radio

Green Day’s Coachella Performance Brings a Big Surprise

2025-04-13

Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong.

Green Day hails from California, so they were a perfect pick to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, April 12. – Author: Cat Badra, Photo via Audio Ink Radio

Longstanding punk band Green Day hails from California, so they were a perfect pick to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, April 12. While much of the Rock Hall’s set was expected, like hearing the band’s greatest hits, something happened during the performance that was a total surprise.

Green Day’s Coachella performance actually marked their first time ever playing the festival. That’s an interesting fact, since the band is from that area and one of the biggest bands in the world. It’s worth noting that vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong did perform a cameo with the Replacements in 2014, but it certainly wasn’t a Green Day set.

Unwelcomed Surprise at Green Day Show

While Green Day’s set was packed with fantastic hits, from “Welcome to Paradise” to “Longview,” one thing was wasn’t so great was seeing a palm tree light on fire due to the pyrotechnics.

In a video shared by People magazine, concertgoers are seen gathering around a palm tree which was filled with flames. Thankfully, it appears nobody was injured, and the fire was put out by professionals, so it didn’t get in the way of the evening’s fu.

Green Day launched into their set at Coachella, offering a high-octane set list consisting of hits that span the decades. The band formed in the 1980s, so they have a ton of material in their catalog.

Inside the Green Day Coachella Set

Green Day started their performance with “American Idiot,” the title track off their Grammy Award-winning 2004 album by the same name. They got political throughout the set, as expected, but it wasn’t all about politics. The set list featured beloved tunes such as “Holiday,” “Longview,” “Basket Case” and more. They also honored some classic rock during the event, including playing Black Sabbath’s seminal “Iron Man” riffs being played during “Hitchin’ a Ride” and Green Day playing the introduction to Tom Petty’s famed “Free Fallin'” before starting to play “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”

It’s really mind-blowing that Green Day has never even played Coachella, but their set was filled with such a career-spanning set, that they more than made up for it. The fact that the festival had them headline the night says a lot, too.

Those who missed seeing Green Day at Coachella will have the chance to see the punk rockers plenty of times this year. The group is also set to perform at Welcome to Rockville, BottleRock, Minnesota Yacht Club and Oceans Calling.

Green Day’s latest album, “Saviors,” marked their 14th studio album and arrived on January 19, 2024, through Reprise Records. Of the release, Rolling Stone noted in their review at the time, “The band’s 14th LP taps wide-ranging rock influences to deliver the kind of punk-rock satire they do so well.” The New York Times added, “While Green Day has pushed against power structures, it has honored musical ones. With Armstrong on guitar and vocals, Tré Cool on drums and Mike Dirnt on bass, there has always been a virtuosic neatness behind Green Day’s blare.”

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Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.

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