Watch Michael Anthony play Van Halen classics onstage with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt

Michael Anthony playing onstage with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt certainly wasn’t on our 2024 bingo card, but here we are.

The former Van Halen man joined Armstrong and Dirnt – who were performing with their covers side project, The Coverups – at Costa Mesa’s Tiki Bar on 20 April to perform Van Halen classics Dance the Night Away and Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, as well as Kiss’s Rock and Roll All Nite.

• READ MORE: Billie Joe Armstrong: “If Green Day were a new band in this era, we’d fit right in next to Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift”

Elsewhere in the 28-track setlist, The Coverups – which also features Green Day touring guitarist Jason White, their audio engineer Chris Dugan and guitar and bass tech/tour manager Bill Schneider – took on tracks by The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, Bryan Adams, The Pretenders, David Bowie, Nirvana, Misfits and more.

The Coverups’ live schedule consists of sporadic and often unannounced shows. In addition to the 20 April show in Costa Mesa, the group performed two shows in London earlier this year: at Oxford Street’s 100 Club on 1 March and The Garage in Highbury on 27 February.

Both shows saw the band invite Courtney Love onstage to perform David Bowie, Hole, Cheap Trick and Tom Petty songs.

In other news, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt’s lesser-known band, Green Day, are set to embark on a massive Europe tour in support of their latest album, Saviors, in late May. They’ll then head to the US for a lengthy string of shows from 29 July, with support from The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and the Linda Lindas.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Dookie and the 20th anniversary of American Idiot, and so the band will celebrate by playing both records in full during the Saviors tour.

For a full list of dates, head to Green Day’s official website.