Foo Fighters play historic Hollywood Bowl concert with LA Philharmonic

It was a long time coming: on Saturday, August 22, Foo Fighters took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles for the very first time in their more than thirty year career. The occasion was bigger than your average show. The concert was part of "Celebrating Gustavo at the Bowl," a four day tribute to Gustavo Dudamel, who is stepping down as musical and artistic director of the LA Philharmonic after seventeen years. Dudamel is leaving next year to take charge of the New York Philharmonic from the 2026 2027 season onward, though he will return to Los Angeles regularly as a guest conductor.

Dave Grohl and his bandmates played a fifteen song set, flanked by the full Los Angeles Philharmonic under Dudamel's baton, along with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and a choir. "It's a celebration," Grohl said, popping open a bottle of champagne toward the end of the evening, referring not just to the concert itself but to the significance of the whole night. The sold out show opened with "Times Like These," after which the ensemble worked their way through familiar tracks including "All My Life," "The Pretender," "Walk," "My Hero," "Learn to Fly," and "Best of You."

Particularly special were the rare deep album cuts woven into the setlist. "I Should Have Known" from the 2011 album Wasting Light was performed live for the first time since 2012, while "Razor" from In Your Honor hadn't been played since as far back as 2006. "Home" from 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace was seeing only its ninth ever live performance. Also notable was the inclusion of "A320," an obscure contribution to the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack that originally featured string arrangements, making it a natural fit for the orchestral setting of the evening. Grohl dedicated "Aurora" to drummer Taylor Hawkins, who passed away in 2021. The show closed out with "Best of You," "Home," and the final song of the night, "Everlong."

The collaboration between Grohl and Dudamel didn't come entirely out of nowhere. Earlier this year at Coachella 2025, Grohl appeared as a guest during a set by the LA Philharmonic under Dudamel, performing "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" and "Everlong" alongside the orchestra. The Hollywood Bowl concert was a different scale altogether, though: a full joint performance with Foo Fighters playing their entire set together with the orchestra and choir.

The Hollywood Bowl show fell right in the middle of a busy stretch for the band. Shortly before it, Foo Fighters played Rock in Rio in Brazil and stepped in as support for AC/DC in St. Louis after The Pretty Reckless dropped off the bill. Their own Take Cover Tour, a stadium run celebrating the band's fourth decade together, picks back up in mid September with a string of North American dates. Dutch and European fans hoping to catch the band will have to wait and see whether any dates on this side of the Atlantic get announced.