East Bay stalwarts Green Day brought fiery punk rock energy to Super Bowl LX, performing a medley of songs from their 2004 classic, American Idiot. They stopped short of making an explicit political statement onstage, instead letting the songs speak for themselves.
After a brief teaser of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” the trio delivered a lively set beginning with “Holiday,” which transitioned into “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and a not-too-subtle rendition of “American Idiot.”
“Don’t wanna be an American idiot / Don’t want a nation under the new mania / And can you hear the sound of hysteria? / The subliminal mindf*ck America,” sang frontman Billie Joe Armstrong in “American Idiot”‘s opening versus. He skipped the second verse, where he often tweaks the lyrics to mock Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda, but the song choice said enough in the moment.
Before Green Day took the stage, Coco Jones kicked off the pre-game festivities at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara with a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Brandi Carlile followed with “America the Beautiful,” with Charlie Puth singing the national anthem.
On Friday night, Armstrong took a moment during the band’s set at The FanDuel Party Powered by Spotify to denounce ICE, while also referencing Minneapolis and Jeffrey Epstein.
Later tonight, Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl 60 Halftime Show after much bluster and outrage from the right, including President Trump himself.
