Green Day electrified the 2026 Super Bowl LX Opening Ceremony at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, delivering a dynamic and crowd-pleasing set that served as the official kickoff to one of the most watched sporting events of the year.
Tasked with opening the pre-game festivities, the Bay Area punk rock trio — Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — launched their performance with one of their most beloved ballads before moving into a high-energy medley of classics:
- “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” – an acoustic-leaning intro that welcomed the crowd and honored legendary NFL MVPs on the field.
- “Holiday” – a fan favorite that injected early rock energy into the ceremony, setting a celebratory tone.
- “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” – bridging emotion with anthem-like power.
- “American Idiot” – the band’s signature anthem closed the set, reaffirming their place in rock history.
This compact, high-impact set tied together Green Day’s enduring catalog in a way that matched both the magnitude of the event and the energy of the stadium crowd.
Green Day’s performance occurred just before kickoff of the Seahawks-Patriots matchup and was broadcast live across major U.S. networks, including NBC and Peacock. The opening segment featured former Super Bowl greats such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and others being introduced onto the field during the band’s music — a symbolic salute blending sports history with rock celebration.
Their set represented a scaled-down but powerful version of a live show: rather than a long tour performance, the group delivered a concise selection of their best-known material, striking a balance between spectacle and tradition.
While Green Day has drawn attention for politically pointed lyric changes at earlier shows during Super Bowl weekend, their national broadcast set was notably more restrained. Some controversial lines the band has used in past live shows — including lyrical modifications referencing political figures — were omitted in the televised performance, likely due to broadcast standards and wide viewership.
Despite this, the band’s reputation for outspoken commentary remained part of the broader conversation around their Super Bowl presence, with fans and critics dissecting both their music and the context of their appearance.
This represented Green Day’s first appearance at a Super Bowl broadcast, and the choice to have them open the event was widely seen as a nod to both their hometown proximity and their impact on American rock music. Formed in the Bay Area in the late 1980s, the band’s career has spanned decades with multiple Grammy wins and albums that helped define punk-influenced rock.
Their performance set the stage for the rest of the evening’s entertainment — including national anthem renditions by Charlie Puth, patriotic performances by Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones, and Bad Bunny’s historic halftime show.
