<\/p>\n
Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters participates in a Culinary demonstration during the 2026 BottleRock festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 23, 2026 in Napa, California.<\/p>\n
Tim Mosenfelder\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Dave Grohl sprinted onto the main stage, flanked by the other members of the\u00a0Foo Fighters<\/a>, strumming his guitar. After reaching the microphone, the frenetic frontman addressed just one of the stalking elephants in the room. \u201cIt\u2019s not our first BottleRock,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to squeeze as much as we can before they cut us off.\u201d<\/p>\n The rock industry darling wasn\u2019t coy about the Foo\u2019s infamous appearance at the Napa festival nine years ago. BottleRock pulled the plug<\/a> during their 2017 finale of \u201cEverlong\u201d due to a noise curfew. The silence prompted the audience to sing along to the immortal ballad \u2014 which even Bob Dylan has praised<\/a> \u2014 and the moment was cemented in festival lore.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Clearly, there were no hard feelings since the band returned in 2021 and again on Saturday night to close out the second day of the fest. But this performance was different from the rest. Beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins died in 2022, replaced by former Nine Inch Nails percussionist Ilan Rubin. Rubin clashed the cymbals with a precise fury. Shoeless, in a pair of Calvin Klein socks, he was the second hardest-working man on stage behind Grohl, but his presence felt overshadowed by Hawkins’ premature passing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, it\u2019s hard for a longtime fan like me to view Grohl in the same light as I did five years ago, as they last blasted through their 31-year catalog of prestige, radio-friendly rock. I\u2019m still rattled by the aftershocks from his\u00a0stunning confession in 2024<\/a> that he had fathered a child outside of his marriage. His betrayal subjected Jordyn Blum, a director and his wife for decades, to public ridicule. Not to mention their children.\u00a0<\/p>\n His off-stage behavior impacted how I listen to the music, but I went into the show with open ears ready to hear how Grohl has evolved and matured. Instead, he belittled Blum with a weird comment about her drinking during a moment that was intended to honor her 50th birthday. And then he butchered \u201cBig Me,\u201d one of my favorite songs, tainting it forever like a blotted Merlot stain.\u00a0<\/p>\n To begin, as is the custom, the Foo Fighters opened with \u201cAll My Life.\u201d The chugging, palm-muted riff kick-starts most shows, and while it sizzles like a burning fuse approaching a powder keg, I found myself absorbed by the lyrics. \u201cDone, done, and I’m on to the next one,\u201d Grohl screams during the refrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n I started considering how Grohl was never shy about detailing his demons through song, and throughout the night, choruses I\u2019ve heard countless times started to sound new with context. I think Grohl uses the stage like a therapy couch. The audience is his shrink, or sounding board.\u00a0<\/p>\n The frontman\u2019s music is deeply confessional. After all, one of the best songs from the aughts era begins with, \u201cI\u2019ve got another confession to make.\u201d Maybe the calamity from a crowd helps to calm his overeagerness. Regardless, the relationship feels cathartic for both sides, as I saw dozens of people profess their passion to every power chord.<\/p>\n Foo Fighters perform at BottleRock on May 23, 2026 in Napa, California.<\/p>\n Silas Valentino\/SFGATE<\/p>\n As a main stage rock band, the Foo Fighters are seasoned and quick on the pick to keep the music going. During \u201cThe Pretender,\u201d Grohl broke a string on his guitar and seamlessly used the song\u2019s bridge to ask lead guitarist Chris Shiflett to take over while a stagehand named Scottie grabbed a new Gibson. Reloaded, Grohl proceeded to work a cover of \u201cDo It<\/a>\u201d by the Pink Fairies into the arena anthem. It was the first of several rock and roll references peppering the setlist.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n During \u201cNo Son of Mine,\u201d the band paid tribute to Motorhead with an \u201cAce of Spades\u201d interlude, but the best surprise was a cover of a cover.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nirvana, that other band Grohl was in, famously reworked \u201cJesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam\u201d by the Vaselines during their “MTV Unplugged” performance. The song made an appearance as part of a medley with \u201cLearning to Fly,\u201d just as the sun set, sending beams of marmalade into the sky behind the crowd.\u00a0Grohl treated BottleRock to a novel callback \u2014 according to setlist.com, this is the only time<\/a> the Foo Fighters have performed the song \u2014 but it sounded uninspired. Even with pianist Rami Jaffee on accordion, \u201cSunbeam\u201d was reduced to a novelty.\u00a0<\/p>\n Throughout the night, Grohl dedicated four songs to four different people, alive and deceased. \u201cThese Days\u201d was for Jose Andres, the famed chef prepared gazpacho with Grohl at the culinary stage earlier in the day, and he toasted to fellow main stage performers LCD Soundsystem with \u201cMonkey Wrench.\u201d \u201cThis is our version of a dance song,\u201d Grohl said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In honor of Hawkins, the band performed “Aurora.” It was a tender moment, as the song takes on a new shape and color for venerating the lost percussionist.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the most awkward dedication of the night was for Blum. It could have been a slam-dunk moment for just about any other husband in the audience, but Grohl bumbled it. He informed the crowd how it was his wife\u2019s 50th birthday and that they decided to celebrate with a Foo Fighters concert in Napa. Grohl said the weekend was about \u201cdrinking from noon to midnight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Before playing the next song, Grohl suggested bringing Blum on stage to celebrate her, but when she wasn\u2019t in the wings, he scrambled. \u201cShe\u2019s probably drinking wine in the back,\u201d he told the tens of thousands of people about his wife on her golden jubilee. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Stay informed, and entertained.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alone with the guitar, Grohl started strumming \u201cBig Me.\u201d It was saccharine. It lacked the conviction of the recording and felt\u00a0performative. Grohl ended by saying, \u201cThat\u2019s my version of a happy birthday song,\u201d and I could have sworn I saw his ego erupt in a blaze of self-glory \u2014 surprising, since he looked so tiny on stage from the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Although their first two CDs were on repeat throughout my childhood thanks to older siblings, BottleRock was my first time attending a Foo Fighters concert. It was abundantly clear that Grohl is a rapid pacemaker. He told the crowd how he likes to play song after song after song, and before ending the night, Grohl predicted his future. \u201cI\u2019ll be 87 f\u2014king years old and still up here screaming,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Numerous times, a song featured a false ending, giving him a chance to belt the hook yet again. It was as if Grohl couldn\u2019t let the moment end, perhaps afraid to face the back of the stage and the rest of the world waiting for him when the final note played out.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779683543_63_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
<\/p>\n