The list of legendary and iconic bands to not reunite by now is a relative short one — and Operation Ivy are frequently mentioned as the one that may or may not ever actually happen. Members of the massively influential Bay Area ska-punk band have frequently shot down reunion rumors in recent years, despite the band’s enduring popularity since their 1989 breakup. But rumors seem to be picking up about Operation Ivy at the very least playing a one-off somewhere, like at Riot Fest or another festival gig. Hell, even Laura Jane Grace started a change.org petition for Riot Fest to reunite Operation Ivy, generating more than 10,000 signatures, and last month frontman Jesse Michaels, speaking on a Hard Times podcast, suddenly said he “wouldn’t rule out” a reunion of sorts.
Now, the “will they?” rumors should really flare up, as Michaels jumped on stage last night (February 5) at the 10th annual Musack Rock And Roll Carnival charity event in Los Angeles headlined by the Specials. He performed Operation Ivy’s classic track “Sound System” with fellow bandmate Tim Armstrong, who was on the bill as Tim Timebomb, backing up The Specials with The Interrupters.
“There was a charity event tonight where Tim and The Interrupters backed up The Specials for a Specials set,” Michaels writes on Instagram Stories. “Before they played I hopped on stage and did ‘Sound System’ (opivy) with them.”
Check out fan-filmed video of the performance below. Once you pick your jaw up off the ground, of course.
Writes @recordsafari on Insta: “W🤩W was not expecting to see an Operation Ivy reunion (Tim Armstrong & Jesse Michaels doing one song) tonight at the @musackrocks charity event!!! WHOA! And of course seeing @thespecials is always one of my favorite things in life ever!!! A night for the books!!!”
Pretty fucking awesome. Now we just need Matt Freeman and Dave Mello on board, and either the festival gig or full-on tour none of us ever thought we’d ever see.
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And here’s the flyer for the event. Pretty cool stuff for those who were there.
