Green Day Burns Down the House at the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival

Green Day Ignites Minnesota Yacht Club with Punk Fireworks

The Minnesota Yacht Club Festival wrapped its second year on a blistering high note July 20, 2025, as Green Day stormed Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul. With 53,000 fans baking under the relentless Midwest sun before it cooled into a golden dusk, the Bay Area punks delivered a two-hour barrage of anthems, pyros, and pointed jabs that had the crowd surging like it was the ’90s all over again. Confetti cannons blasted, an inflatable Dookie plane soared overhead, and Billie Joe Armstrong’s voice—raw and raging—cut through the humid air like a switchblade.

Green Day’s origin story is pure punk lore: formed in 1987 in the sleepy suburb of Rodeo, California, by teenage misfits Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt. They started as Sweet Children, thrashing in garages with early drummer John Kiffmeyer before Tré Cool joined in 1990. Signed to Reprise Records, their 1994 breakthrough Dookie exploded with snotty hooks and suburban angst, selling over 20 million copies and catapulting punk into the mainstream. They followed with the politically charged rock opera American Idiot in 2004, a Grammy-winning gut-punch to the Iraq War era. Now with 14 studio albums and over 75 million records sold worldwide, the band—inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015—remains a defiant force on their Saviors Tour, blending nostalgia with fresh ire.

The core trio that powered this Yacht Club triumph hasn’t changed in decades, augmented by a key live collaborator. Armstrong commands the stage with snarling vocals and rhythm guitar, Dirnt anchors the low end on bass and backups, and Cool unleashes whirlwind drums. Touring guitarist Jason White fleshes out the riffs, ensuring the sound stays massive yet intimate.

Band Members

• Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals
• Tré Cool – drums
• Jason White – lead guitar (touring)

Green Day’s arsenal of smashes spans eras, but their biggest cuts still pack stadiums. “Basket Case” from Dookie captures twitchy paranoia, hitting No. 1 on modern rock charts. “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” broods to four-time Grammy glory and a Hot 100 peak. “American Idiot” rails against complacency, “Holiday” ignites rebellion, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” aches with loss, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” tugs heartstrings, and “21 Guns” delivers soaring surrender. Longview’s slacker groove and When I Come Around’s cheeky charm round out the essentials—timeless tracks that turned punk accessible without diluting the edge.

Armstrong wasted no time with politics, and even stated, “I’m so fucking sick of politics”, to loud applause. A fan named Rowan got yanked onstage for Basket Case‘s bridge, Tré Cool demolished his kit in a confetti storm at the close, and a “Minnesota Loves Green Day” flag waved triumphantly. The band was razor-sharp, Armstrong’s near-miss on a verse drawing laughs with “I’m tryna sing!” It was less concert, more party—a reminder that at 38 years in, Green Day still swings hard for the fences.

Verified Setlist

• Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen cover – tape)
• Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones cover – tape)
• Intro Theme (medley)
• The American Dream Is Killing Me
• Holiday
• Know Your Enemy
• Boulevard of Broken Dreams
• One Eyed Bastard
• Longview
• Welcome to Paradise
• Jesus of Suburbia
• Basket Case (with fan Rowan on bridge)
• King for a Day / Shout (The Isley Brothers cover)
• Still Breathing
• Youngblood
• 21 Guns (with Free Fallin’ intro – Tom Petty cover)
• American Idiot
• Wake Me Up When September Ends
• Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (with “Minnesota Loves Green Day” flag)
• Letterbomb
• Rock and Roll All Nite (Kiss cover – encore)
• Summer Wind (Frank Sinatra cover – tape)

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