Green Day Frontman Set to Play Free Show in His Hometown

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Billie Joe Armstrong is bringing his cover band the Coverups home to Rodeo this Saturday, Sept. 26, for a free performance at the town's Music and Art Market. 

The set runs 2:30 to 4 p.m. at Lefty Gomez Field, 470 Parker Ave. The market, free with no tickets required, opens at 11 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. at the Rodeo Music and Art Market. 

For Armstrong, this one's personal. Rodeo, a small town about 24 miles north of Oakland, is where he grew up and met Mike Dirnt as a kid. The two played their first gig together at a local barbecue joint called Rod's Hickory Pit, years before Green Day existed. He attended John Swett High School in the nearby town of Crockett. 

Green Day has since gone from Bay Area punk kids to a band nearly every teenager in America grew up on, selling out stadiums to this day off classics like "Basket Case" and "American Idiot." The Coverups, his side project, gives Armstrong a whole new experience as an artist. It's ultimately just him and a few old friends playing songs that mean something to them.

He started the band in 2018 for a chance to sing other people's songs. He recruited Dirnt along with touring guitarist Jason White, tour manager Bill Schneider and engineer Chris Dugan. Dirnt stopped performing with the group in 2024, but the other four have kept it going, with shows having happened this year at the Roxy in West Hollywood and in San Diego. 

The Coverups aren't the only act. Whateverglades, the Black Excellence Band and DJ Cavity Rock round out the bill. Organizers also list 40-plus local artisan and vintage vendors, food and a kids' play area. 

There's something very punk rock about returning home to play a free show at your hometown's little league ballpark and we're so here for that.