Before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots kicked off Super Bowl LX on Sunday (Feb. 8) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., musicians from an assortment of genres took the field to celebrate America — including Coco Jones, who opened the Super Bowl 2026 preshow with a stunning performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Often referred to as the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a hymn that dates back to the year 1900 and is a prayer for freedom for all in America.

Dressed in a white gown augmented by the colors of the Pan-African flag (red, black, green) rendered in shimmering sequins, Jones delivered a technically assured version of the song. Backed by an orchestral octet, Jones demonstrated the vocal command and flair that helped her net a Grammy for best R&B performance category in 2024. Her debut album, Why Not More?, dropped in 2025, following the success of her Billboard Hot 100 hit “ICU.”

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was added to Super Bowl celebrations in 2020, when Black Lives Matters protests were taking place across the United States and the NFL was under fire for taking disciplinary measures against NFL players who “took a knee” during the National Anthem during the late 2010s to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

Later during the preshow, Green Day performed a medley of their punk-pop hits, Brandi Carlile sang “America the Beautiful” and Charlie Puth performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” (aka the National Anthem). During the Big Game’s halftime, Bad Bunny will take the stage to perform the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.

You know where they’d be found: Bay Area natives Green Day took the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 8) to help celebrate the Big Game’s 60th anniversary with a hit-filled set during the opening ceremony, ahead of the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots taking the field to duke it out for the Lombardi Trophy.

The six-minute, four-song set started subtly, with several violinists playing the gorgeous strains of “Good Riddance” as Super Bowl MVPs of decades past made their way onto the field to celebrate the Big Game’s six-decade milestone. As greats such as the Manning brothers, Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice finished walking out to the field, the cameras panned to the stage, and Green Day took over the rest of the song, then kicked into the rest of the medley.

As fans on the field waved red foam heart-grenades (the image on the cover of the band’s 2004 album American Idiot) instead of foam fingers, the band transitioned into Billboard Hot 100 hits “Holiday” (No. 19), then “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (No. 2) before closing with a rollicking “American Idiot” (No. 61), not once mentioning the state of American politics, as the band is wont to do.

As the final song wrapped, the cameras panned out to show the football greats lined up along both sides of the stairs leading up to the stage. With the set ending, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong yelled excitedly to kick off the rest of the festivities: “Welcome to the Baaaaay! It’s Super Bowl 60!”

The Grammy-winning rockers were first announced as performers on Jan. 18. “We are super hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard!” Armstrong said in a statement at the time. “We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world.”

Though Green Day avoided making any political statements during its set at the pre-show ceremony, the band did not hold back leading up to the Big Game, making headlines not only for the announcement of its performance before the game’s start, but also for speaking out against the Trump administration, which the rockers have not been shy about doing over the years. During the band’s performance at Spotify’s The FanDuel Party held at San Francisco’s Pier 69 on Friday (Feb. 6), Armstrong had a strong message for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“Quit your s—ty ass job. Quit that s—ty job you have,” the frontman said bluntly, according to videos captured by attendees. “Because when this is over, and it will be over at some point of time, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, JD Vance, Donald Trump — they’re gonna drop you like a bad f—king habit. Come on to this side of the line.”

And as he has done at many previous shows, Armstrong tweaked the lyrics of hit song “American Idiot.” Instead of the usual “I’m not part of a redneck agenda” lyric, the rocker declared, “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.” He also made a pointed reference to the recent headlines surrounding the release of a batch of the Epstein files during “Holiday,” singing “the representative from Epstein Island has the floor” rather than “the representative from California.”

The president also made his distaste for Green Day and Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner Bad Bunny apparent before the game. “I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice,” Trump told the New York Post of the performers in January. “All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.” 

The 2026 Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.

Brett Favre is weighing in on which musical act he’ll watch during the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show.

On Saturday (Feb. 7), the former Green Bay Packers quarterback, 56, shared on X why he’s choosing Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show” over Bad Bunny‘s performance on Sunday (Feb. 8) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

“Not familiar with Bad Bunny so don’t know if his music is good or bad,” Favre wrote on X. “I’m just going to watch what I know Lee Brice, Kid Rock All-American Halftime Show.”

The NFL Hall of Famer’s post also included a clip of himself discussing his halftime music pick on an episode of his 4th and Favre podcast, which he co-hosts with David Kano.

The official Super Bowl LX halftime show will feature Grammy winner Bad Bunny, who is from Puerto Rico, and American territory, and performs almost exclusively in Spanish.

Turning Point USA, founded by late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, announced its “All-American Halftime Show” shortly after Bad Bunny was revealed as the Super Bowl headliner. The Turning Point lineup for Super Bowl Sunday includes Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Gabby Barrett and Brantley Gilbert. The show is being billed as an alternative to the NFL’s official halftime performance.

Favre, a supporter of President Donald Trump, was met with some backlash in the comments section of his post on X.

“Shocking that the guy that defrauded his states welfare and sent unsolicited d—k pics to a reporter, aligns with kid rock and maga,” one person wrote. Another commented, “You wouldn’t [like] Bad Bunny, Brett. He actively gives back to his community instead of defrauding it.”

The remarks alluded to Favre’s involvement in a Mississippi welfare controversy, in which investigators claimed that public assistance funds were misused for projects tied to the former athlete. The case received national attention because the funds were meant to help low-income families. Favre has denied any wrongdoing, and the issue has continued to unfold through civil litigation and public scrutiny.

Others agreed with Favre’s choice, writing, “Me too! Dont know who bad bunny is???” Another added, “Amen Brett!!” alongside an image of the American flag.

Super Bowl LX is set for Sunday, with the Seattle Seahawks facing the New England Patriots. The game will air on NBC, with livestreaming available on Peacock. The Turning Point USA halftime show will air on Turning Point’s social media channels, as well as platforms including The Daily Wire and TBN.

Greg Brown, founding guitarist of Cake and writer of the band’s hit song “The Distance,” has died.

Cake announced Brown’s passing in a social media post on Saturday (Feb. 7). His age was not provided in the announcement, but a 2021 Billboard feature listed him as 51 at the time.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown’s passing after a brief illness,” Cake wrote on Instagram alongside a black-and-white photo of their late bandmate.

The Sacramento, California–based rock act — whose current members include vocalist John McCrea, trumpeter/keyboardist Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum and drummer Todd Roper — did not specify an exact cause of death.

“Greg was an integral part of CAKE’s early sound and development,” the group added. “His creative contributions were immense, and his presence — both musical and personal — will be deeply missed. Godspeed, Greg.”

Cake was founded in Sacramento in 1991, with Brown on guitar alongside McCrea, DiFiore, and others. He played on the band’s first two albums: its 1994 debut, Motorcade of Generosity, and the 1996 follow-up, Fashion Nugget.

Brown was the sole songwriter of Cake’s 1996 single “The Distance,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart.

“[McCrea] took to it right away, and I didn’t really understand what he saw in it so much,” Brown told Billboard of “The Distance” in 2021. “I liked the way it sounded and everything, but I thought ‘Frank Sinatra’ was a much stronger choice for the single. But the record label chose it and it worked out.”

Brown left Cake in 1997 following a tour in support of Fashion Nugget.

“I might have told you one thing back when I was 27 years old, and I left hot headed and mad about what I considered to be irreconcilable personality problems or whatever,” he said in 2021. “As 51-year-old me, I see a much larger context of what was going on in my life. Rather than get into all of it, I would just say there was a lot of turmoil at the time, and I felt like leaving Cake would be a decision that would be good for my health.”

The guitarist went on to start his own band, Deathray, with fellow former Cake member Victor Damiani on bass. He also joined a brief side project of Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo called Homie, playing on the group’s only release, “American Girls,” from the soundtrack for 1998’s Meet the Deedles.

After releasing two Deathray albums in the early 2000s, Brown reunited with Cake to play guitar on “Bound Away,” which appeared on the group’s 2011 album, Showroom of Compassion.

See Cake’s post about Brown’s death on Instagram here.

One man has died and six others were hospitalized after attending the Dreamstate music festival in Australia.

The New South Wales Police were patrolling the electronic music event at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday (Feb. 7), when multiple festival-goers began experiencing what authorities described as “medical episodes,” according to TMZ.

The festival — dubbed online as the “ultimate trance and techno destination” — featured a lineup that included Paul van Dyk, Vini Vici, Gareth Emery, Ben Nicky and Giuseppe Ottaviani. A second day of the event was scheduled to take place at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse on Sunday (Feb. 8).

The man who died at the scene in Sydney was reportedly in his 40s and had not been formally identified at press time. Six other people were hospitalized, with one person remaining in critical condition.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

“A crime scene has been established, and police commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident,” the New South Wales Police told People.

Investigators say the man may have suffered cardiac arrest possibly linked to a suspected drug overdose, and police are looking into whether multiple attendees experienced a mass drug overdose during the festival, according to 9News Australia.

During the festival, Dreamstate organizers shared a warning on its Instagram Story from VIC Health, noting that “high-dose MDMA capsules and pills are circulating in Victoria.”

Officials later confirmed there was no pill-testing facility available at the event, according to TMZ.

John Graham, Australia’s Minister for Music and the Night Time Economy, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that “there was no trial pill-testing facility available at the event.” But he added that a “safety action plan was in place” at the event and followed government rules.

“A range of harm reduction initiatives are in place at festivals, including support and health promotion workers, health messaging, free chilled water, misting fans, chill-out spaces and well-equipped medical services,” a NSW Health spokesperson told ABC.