Outside Lands headliners Foo Fighters bring out surprise guest

The iconic rock band opened their headlining show with “All My Life,” immediately creating a head-banging and animated crowd. The set took place during a sweet spot of the evening, with the sunset transitioning into pure darkness for the nearly two-hour performance. Before heading into “No Son of Mine,” the band’s guitarists teased the crowd with riffs from “Enter Sandman” and “Paranoid.” The band members admitted to messing with the crowd but still managed to do it in the most electric way possible. 

They transitioned to “Walk” with frantic energy and an impressive performance by Dave Grohl, the band’s lead singer and former Nirvana drummer, who has served as one of rock’s most charismatic figures since forming the band in 1994. The energy carried as Grohl continued the tour-long tradition of calling fans to the stage to sing while the newest live drummer John Freese plays. During this tour gag, Freese typically plays various songs from the numerous artists he’s worked with over the years. 

“He’s played on about 10,000 records in the last 30 years,” Grohl said to the crowd. Freese played a few tunes including “Whip It” by ’80s new-wavers Devo. 

Grohl then highlighted Freese’s feature on one of Michael Bublé’s songs and looked for a “fan” to come sing on stage. The lead singer spotted a “superfan” holding a “I love Bublé” sign and invited him on stage. “This motherf—ker better know the song,” Grohl said to the crowd. 

The “superfan” ended up being Bublé himself, and the crowd went wild as he got on stage and sang his 2009 hit “Haven’t Met You Yet.”

“Apparently he f—king knows it,” Grohl said as Bublé delivered a stellar and nostalgic performance of his hit song.

After the big Bublé surprise, the band didn’t stop there with special guests. Grohl then brought up his 17-year-old daughter, Violet Grohl, who performed “Shame Shame,” “The Teacher,” and “Show Me How.” The last song she performed with the band was a tribute to Grohl’s late mother. 

The rock band’s headlining show comes over a year after the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died while the band was on tour in South America in March 2022. The group dedicated its second to last song to the late drummer with a somber and pleasant performance of “Aurora.” 

The Foo Fighters chose “Everlong” out of their 30-year music discography to end the rocking show, the pounding drum fills and fierce guitar riffs punctuated by flashing lights.

Hyper-aware of the city’s curfew during its set, the Foo Fighters ended exactly on time at 10 p.m. 

The music festival, which attracts over 90,000 festivalgoers will continue on Sunday with headliners including The 1975 and ODESZA as well as performances by Megan Thee Stallion and Cigarettes After Sex.