Foo Fighters Play First Hollywood Bowl Show With LA Philharmonic

A Historic Collaboration at the Hollywood Bowl

The Foo Fighters paused their global Take Cover Tour for a landmark one-off performance at the Hollywood Bowl. This event marked the first time the Rock band has played the iconic venue in its more than three decades together. Joining the group on stage were the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). The 15-song set served as a centerpiece for "Celebrating Gustavo at the Bowl," a four-night tribute marking Dudamel’s 17th and final season as the Philharmonic’s music and artistic director before he transitions to the New York Philharmonic for the 2026-27 season.

The collaboration brought a new level of drama to the band's material. According to reports, "The Pretender" was bolstered by a horn section that gave the track the atmosphere of a lost James Bond theme, while a gospel choir added harmony to "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" and "Run." Frontman Dave Grohl was seen celebrating the occasion by chugging from a bottle of champagne toward the end of the sold-out show, which was attended by 17,500 people.

"It’s a celebration."

— Dave Grohl

Setlist Highlights and Rare Performances

The evening featured a blend of the band's most recognizable hits and several deep cuts that have rarely been performed live. The full setlist for the night included:

• Times Like These

• All My Life

• The Pretender

• Walk

• A320

• My Hero

• Learn To Fly

• The Sky Is A Neighborhood

• Run

• I Should Have Known

• Razor

• Aurora

• Best Of You

• Home

• Everlong

The performance was notable for the return of several "rarities." The track "I Should Have Known," from the 2011 album Wasting Light, received its first live performance since 2012. "Razor," an acoustic deep cut from 2005’s In Your Honor, returned for the first time since 2006, featuring gorgeous strings that echoed the main instrumental themes. Additionally, the band revived "A320," a track from the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack that originally featured string arrangements, making it a natural fit for the orchestral setting.

One of the most emotional moments of the night was the performance of "Home," from 2007’s Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, which had not been played live since 2007. Grohl admitted the emotional weight of the song during the show:

"Whenever we played that song, there’s no way I could make it through without just bursting into tears."

— Dave Grohl

Tributes and Orchestral Grandeur

The band continued their tradition of honoring their late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, by dedicating "Aurora" to him. Grohl looked out at the crowd and expressed how much the setting would have meant to his former bandmate:

"He would have loved this."

— Dave Grohl

The show concluded with "Everlong," where the entire orchestra and choir erupted into a crescendo as fireworks were set off over the Hollywood Bowl. Grohl sang the closing lines, "If anything could ever be this good again," as the night drew to a close. Reflecting on the experience of playing with the Philharmonic, Grohl stated:

"I wish that we could do this every night for the rest of our lives, with all these amazing people."

— Dave Grohl

Context and Upcoming Activity

The Hollywood Bowl performance is part of a busy stretch for the band, who formed in 1994 and have become staples of the Hard Rock and Grunge genres. They recently performed at Rock in Rio in Brazil and are set to fill a one-off support slot for AC/DC on September 8 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri, filling in for The Pretty Reckless.

The band's latest studio album, Your Favorite Toy, was released in April via Roswell Records/RCA Records. The album was co-produced by the band and Oliver Roman, engineered by Roman, and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent. Its release coincided with the launch of the Take Cover stadium tour, which is scheduled to resume its North American leg in mid-September. The band has also announced a series of South American dates for early 2027.

This was not Grohl's first time working with Dudamel; the frontman previously joined the conductor and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Coachella 2025 for orchestral renditions of "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" and "Everlong" at the festival's Outdoor Theatre.