On July 6th, OAKA will ignite: For the first time in Greece, Green Day with 75 million records sold – The story of the band that revived punk rock.

Billy Joe Armstrong, singer of Green Day, may not even remember what he was doing on February 1, 1994, along with his two companions Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool, when their third album “Dookie” was released in stores.

Many described it as the rhapsody of the turbulent adolescence of three twenty-year-olds who did almost everything to the extreme. However, it was destined to be one of the most influential albums of the ’90s and the one that crowned Green Day as a major band, escaping the narrow confines of California.

Three decades later, the high priests of American punk rock, having sold 75 million albums, are coming for the 20th anniversary of the Ejekt Festival and will perform on July 6th at the Olympic Stadium. It is the first time this huge band is appearing in our country since, despite attempts by Ejekt’s Giannis Paltoglou to bring them before, their European tour stops – all in central Europe – did not route them through Greece.

This year, the effort succeeded, and in three weeks OAKA will vibrate with the sounds of their iconic hits like “Basket Case,” “21 Guns,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Good Riddance,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” and others.

Songs that marked a generation and the revival of the punk rock scene in America, even if some hardcore fans felt betrayed when they signed with a multinational company.

They were even banned from performing at the club they frequently played – “924 Gilman Street” – although by then the audience wanting to see them no longer fit there but wanted a stadium.

“Dookie” sold 25 million copies, and none of their subsequent albums surpassed it, while their seventh album “American Idiot” is considered prophetic and was a rock opera. Their appearance at Woodstock ’94 entered the pantheon, when a wild mud fight broke out between the band and the audience, and a security guard mistakenly attacked bassist Mike Dirnt, punching him and breaking three teeth in that wild live show.

Years later, Armstrong admitted in an interview that they chose the dumbest name for the band.

In Athens, they will take the stage with all their greatest hits, while before them the audience will be warmed up by The Overjoyed, Inhaler, and The Kooks.

Louis Tomlinson: From One Direction to Solo Career

Three days after the “storm” of Green Day, on July 9th, the Ejekt Festival’s second day will be led by the very popular Louis Tomlinson, who at 34 years old has already seen and lived through a lot. He can first be called a child of X Factor, where he sought recognition and formed the sensational group One Direction with Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles.

From 2011 to 2015, they dominated the charts – their second album reached No. 1 in 35 countries – and filled arenas from England to Asia in 2012, giving 123 concerts that earned $114 million. After their breakup in 2015, Louis Tomlinson started his solo career with the song “Just Hold On,” released with the famous DJ Steve Aoki. At the same time, he experienced his first loss that deeply marked him, as in December 2016, he lost his mother, and two years later, fate was again cruel.

His sister Felicity died of a heart attack in March 2018, months before Tomlinson became a judge on X Factor. In the following years, his solo works were talked about, and he proved to be an explosive performer on stage.

Athenians understood this well when on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, they filled Plateia Nerou, and Louis shook them profoundly, proving he was no longer just a teenage pop idol. He is expected to do the same on July 9th at a sold-out OAKA, a guy flirting with rock while not forgetting some One Direction hits.

Before him, Nieve Ella will take the stage first, followed by the excellent British band Only the Poets, one of the most promising names in the rock/indie scene, and then Sevdaliza, who is at the peak of her career with streams in the billions and a captivating stage presence. Tomlinson will close the show.

Last year, fate struck again with tragedy related to the loss of a loved one. Liam Payne, with whom he journeyed in one of the most successful boy bands, tragically died by suicide, jumping from the third floor of the hotel where he was staying in Buenos Aires, just hours after posting his last social media message. Louis said goodbye with the words: “I wish I had the chance to say goodbye and tell you once more how much I loved you. Love you, friend… Sleep well.”