Green Day, Stevie Wonder, and the Chainsmokers to Headline Global Citizen Festival in Central Park
Pharrell Williams, the Killers, and others will also perform at the free, Chris Martin-founded event
August 1, 2017
Stevie Wonder, Green Day, and the Chainsmokers are headlining the sixth annual Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. The Grammy-winning artists and Stern Show veterans will take the stage in September along with the Lumineers, Big Sean, Andra Day, Alessia Cara, the Killers, and 2014 Stern Show guest Pharrell Williams.
Global Citizen Festival—founded by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin in 2012 as part of a movement to combat extreme poverty—is a completely free event with tickets distributed via a lottery system on the organization’s website. More special guests for this year’s festival are expected to be announced later in the week, according to reports.
“In this crucial time, there is nothing more exciting to me than having the honor of giving my gift of song, words and motivation to the Global Citizen Festival,” Wonder said in a statement. “When we commit ourselves to life issues, we are showing love of the Most High. I was, I am and will always be, a citizen connected to the spirit of everyone on this planet moving forward. Let’s go!”
“We’re grateful to be a part of this year’s Global Citizen Festival,” Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong added. “American aid programs make a significant difference in the betterment of lives at home and around the world, and we should all want these programs to become stronger, not weaker. We all play a part in seeing this mission through and it starts with calling on all our leaders.”
When Green Day joined the Stern Show most recently in 2016, the band not only performed some of their most beloved hits but also revealed how Billie Joe chipped his tooth just before shooting the “Good Riddance” music video. Listen to Green Day’s full sit-down with Howard here and check out the band’s rendition of “Welcome to Paradise” (below).
Wonder has performed previously at Global Citizen Festival, but this will mark Green Day and the Chainsmokers’ debuts. Martin—a Stern Show favorite and the curator of the charitable festival through 2030—recently collaborated with the Chainsmokers on “Something Just Like This.”
When the EDM duo visited the Stern Show in June, they told Howard all about the night they teamed up with Chris to create the eventual hit single. “Chris Martin is one of the most brilliant songwriters,” Drew Taggart told Howard. “He just danced around in the living room for like two and a half hours just kind of mumbling stuff to himself and he basically mumbled this entire song.” Listen to a portion of the interview (below).
Global Citizen Festival will be held Sept. 23 at Central Park in New York City. Get more information here.
