Don't you love it when your favorite musician gets up on stage with your other favorite performer?
On-stage collabs are the secret bonus surprise of live performances and one of the coolest things that can happen when you least expect it.
Here are a few of best from 2024:
Courtney Love & Billie Joe Armstrong
When Billie Joe isn't playing two albums in their entirety per concert, or writing new records, or insulting American "idiots," he has a side project in the vein of The Replacements and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes called The Cover Ups.
In February, the band - which is fronted by Green Day's Billie Joe with Mike Dirnt on guitars, as well as the band's touring guitarist Jason White on more guitars - was joined on stage by Courtney Love half way through their 20+ song set.
Mrs. Cobain covered the Cheap Trick deep cut "He's a Whore" and Tom Petty's "Even The Losers" at their gig in London.
Go to Green Day's site for tickets to their Saviors Tour which continues next month.
Bruce Springsteen & John Mellencamp
For years in the 1980s people assumed there was a terrible rivalry between John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen, simply because both singer/songwriters tended to sing about the working class on some of their best songs.
Turned out they liked each other then and still do now. In 2022, Springsteen appeared on three tracks of John's Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. Mellencamp has only performed one of those tunes live in the past, and it was with Bruce in November of 2023 at the Stand Up For Heroes benefit.
In March, Mellencamp called out the Boss during his gig at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the gentlemen sang "Pink Houses" together... for you and me.
Jelly Roll & Lana Del Rey
When Lana Del Rey announced she was going to record a country album, Lasso, fans immediately speculated who she could collab with on any variety of duets. On the list were stars like Post Malone, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson. But when Jelly Roll joined her at Alabama's Hangout Festival, one of just the 10 appearances she'd make in 2024, it was like "of course!"
Together they covered the Lynyrd Skynyrd anthem "Sweet Home Alabama" which... was a choice. Lana's dancers tried to shimmy to it. Lana changed around the words a bit. But it wasn't the greatest. What was good was we saw the two stars should reunite again and do something original because together they're so lovable.
Go to Jelly Roll's site for tickets to his Beautifully Broken tour which continues in February.
Harry Styles & Stevie Nicks
They say Harry Styles has two types of fans: young women and older women. In July at London's Hyde Park, Stevie Nicks was the headliner of the Friday lineup of the British Summer Time festival which featured an all-female lineup including Brandi Carlile and Anna Calvi.
So if you were going to invite a male guest star, Harry had to be on the top of the list.
“My little muse, Harry Styles. This beautiful child should’ve been born in 1948 too, because he just fits in with all of us,” Stevie said of the former One Directioner.
Stevie and Harry sang the Tom Petty chestnut "Stop Draggin My Heart Around" and the Fleetwood Mac banger "Landslide."
Go to Stevie's site for tickets to two stadium shows she has lined up for 2025.
Michael J. Fox & Coldplay
Movies about fictional rock stars are almost impossible to make because there's very little that's better than real life. But Micheal J. Fox's character in Back to the Future where he basically shows a gym full of kids rock n' roll before it was invented is exactly what many of us would do if we had a time machine.
In real life the actor can actually play that guitar like he's ringing a bell and at Glastonbury in June, Fox played two songs with Coldplay: "Fix You," and "Humankind."
Click on Coldplay's website to get tickets to their Music of the Spheres tour which continues next month.
Billie Eilish & Lana Del Rey
The highlight of Weekend One of Coachella was opening night when Lana Del Rey arrived in the back of a motorcycle and then commenced to pole dance and sway through some of her biggest hits.
But when Billie Eilish appeared and gushed over her role model and sad girl inspo, it was beautiful, sweet, and giggly. Together the pair sang a Lana tune, "Video Games," and a Billie song "Ocean Eyes" and it was magical. That is the tour this planet needs people proclaimed on Twitter. And they are 100% correct.
Billie's Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour is still rolling this month. Even though the tickets are sold out you should go to her website to get on the waiting list.
