Green Day Change

Green Day made headlines at Coachella on April 12 by altering the lyrics of their hit song “American Idiot” to take aim at former President Donald Trump. During their main stage performance, the band changed the original line “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” to “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.” While there were no political speeches, Rolling Stone noted that the band’s messages were clear through their music. Green Day has a history of making political statements during performances and continued that trend at Coachella.

The band also addressed global issues by modifying lyrics in other songs. In “Jesus of Suburbia,” Billie Joe Armstrong sang, “Runnin’ away from pain like the kids from Palestine,” referencing the Israel-Gaza conflict. At a March concert in Melbourne, they took aim at Vice President JD Vance by changing lyrics to mention him by name. Armstrong also expressed disdain for politicians and public figures like Elon Musk and Trump, telling the crowd he wished they’d “shut the f**k up.” Earlier in the year, while performing in Musk’s native South Africa, they altered “American Idiot” again, singing, “I’m not part of the Elon agenda.”