10 Most Emotional Onstage Moments In Rock
3. Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day at Reading
Green Day were having a bit of a turbulent year when they played the Reading Festival in 2013. Though the trilogy of albums had left a bad taste in fans' mouths, Billie Joe Armstrong's recent stint in rehab led to him being back out in full force come showtime, where they performed their smash hit album Dookie from front to back. However, another musical milestone was also on the horizon.
Being the 10 year anniversary of the release of American Idiot, there was a bit of tension in the air when approaching the ballad Wake Me Up When September Ends. Though Billie had sung it hundreds of times, the moment seemed to hit him when it actually came time to sing the track after ten years. Taken on its own, Wake Me Up is a heart-wrenching story of Billie Joe losing his father at a young age, which was definitely a sore spot that night.
On occasion, Billie was known to adjust some of the lyrics to suit the time period, but this moment proved to be a bit too much for him. As he goes to the mic to sing "like my father's come to pass," Armstrong turns away and tries to get his bearings, refusing to let his emotions get the better of him during such a powerful moment. While Green Day had played this song a hundred times before and since this date, this is still the one moment where we see Billie Joe revert back to the hurt child from days gone by.