Green Day didn’t just rock the Coachella stage over the weekend—they sent a loud, clear message.
During their headline set on the second night of the 2025 Coachella Music Festival, the legendary punk band took a political stand by tweaking some of their most iconic lyrics to throw shade at former President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
A Protest Anthem Gets a Fresh Twist
Fans were in for a surprise when Billie Joe Armstrong, mid-performance of their hit American Idiot, swapped out the original lyric “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” for the updated, razor-sharp jab: “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda.”
It’s not the first time the band has made this switch—they did the same during their New Year’s Eve gig last year, drawing both applause and criticism from fans.
But it wasn’t just Trump on the receiving end. During their performance of Jesus of Suburbia, Green Day also made a powerful reference to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, adjusting the lyric to: “Running away from pain like the kids from Palestine.”
The crowd was visibly stirred by the moment, showing that Green Day hasn’t lost its edge when it comes to turning music into a political microphone.
A Long History of Speaking Out
This isn’t new territory for Green Day. Back in March during their Saviors Tour stop in Melbourne, Armstrong took a swipe at politicians and billionaires alike, telling the crowd:
“Don’t you want these fing politicians to shut the f up? Don’t you want Elon Musk to shut the f*** up? Don’t you want Donald Trump to shut the f*** up?”
It was classic Billie Joe—raw, passionate, and unfiltered.
He made it clear the band wasn’t interested in online drama, saying, “We don’t need to see what’s on Twitter. This is about us, everybody together.”
Backlash and Fireworks—Literally
Of course, not everyone’s a fan of their lyrical improvisations. Elon Musk even took to X (formerly Twitter) to mock the band after their New Year’s performance, claiming, “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.”
But drummer Mike Dirnt brushed it off in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying, “Elon Musk actually is the machine.”
He added that the band has always been political and that people shouldn’t be surprised when they call out injustice.
And if the music wasn’t already explosive enough, fireworks lit up the Coachella sky—literally.
One of the pyrotechnics accidentally set a palm tree on fire near the artist section, adding a dramatic (and thankfully harmless) twist to the already fiery set.
From South Africa to Coachella and Beyond
Green Day has been adjusting their lyrics throughout their global tour. In South Africa, they sang, “I’m not part of the Elon agenda.”
At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Armstrong explained that American Idiot continues to evolve with the times.
“You can change a lyric here or there, and suddenly it just becomes current again,” he said.
Their Coachella performance included other fan-favorites like Holiday, Basket Case, 21 Guns, and Boulevard of Broken Dreams, all met with roaring cheers from the crowd.
Saviors Tour Marches On
The band is currently blazing through their Saviors Tour, which kicked off last May in Spain and will wrap up in Ocean City, Maryland, this coming September.
They’re hitting countries across Europe, South America, and North America in support of their 14th studio album, Saviors, released in January 2024.
While fans are loving the new sound and energy, the tour hasn’t been without its bumps.
They had to cancel their final show in Australia due to Cyclone Alfred, calling it a “huge disappointment” in a public statement.
A Band That Keeps Evolving
Reflecting on the tour and the band’s journey, bassist Mike Dirnt told Rolling Stone that Saviors embraces glam rock and stretches the band’s creative wings.
“We’ve got to try and grow as a band—that’s our job,” he said. “It’s not the listener’s job to grow.”
And that’s exactly what Green Day has done—grown, evolved, and stayed bold.
Whether they’re rewriting lyrics or setting palm trees on fire, one thing’s for sure: they’re not staying quiet.