Foo Fighters look set to play Glastonbury as Dave Grohl spotted on site
Grohl was pictured backstage close to Arctic Monkeys' equipment
By Joe Goggins
Foo Fighters look set to play Glastonbury today (June 23), after Dave Grohl was pictured backstage at the festival.
A photograph is circulating on social media of the Foos frontman sipping from a mug, seemingly behind the scenes at the Pyramid Stage, where The Churnups are scheduled to take the stage later. The presence in the background of parts of the stage set for tonight’s headliners, Arctic Monkeys, appears to confirm that the photo is genuine and that Grohl is indeed on site.
The tacit confirmation would appear to bring an end to the mystery surrounding the identity of The Churnups. Eyebrows were raised weeks ago when the enigmatic name appeared in a plum slot on the festival’s iconic Pyramid Stage, with rumours quickly swirling as to the actual identity of the group. Initially, Pulp were among the names suggested as they continue the first leg of their ‘This Is What We Do for an Encore’ reunion tour, before Grohl dropped a huge hint that it was in fact his band who would be making a surprise appearance.
Referencing a recent run of festival shows on both sides of the Atlantic, the group’s first since the sudden passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year, Grohl said in a handwritten note: “Hey, it’s been a while. Now that we’ve returned from our first run of shows, I felt compelled to reach out and thank you all for being there for us.
“Every night, when I see you singing, it makes me sing harder,” he went on. “When I see you screaming, it makes me scream louder. When I see your tears, it brings me to tears. And when I see your joy, it brings me joy. But, I see you… and it feels good to see you, churning up these emotions together. Because we’ve always done this together. Time and time again. See you soon.”
Grohl’s use of the phrase “churning up” gave the game away, and now, Foo Fighters look likely to take to the Pyramid today at 18:15.
The band, with Josh Freese now on drums, will presumably sprinkle in handful of cuts from last month’s But Here We Are alongside the classics. The record, which reckons with Hawkins’ death in Colombia in March of 2022, has met with the strongest reviews the band have enjoyed since 2011’s Wasting Light. Rolling Stone’s Maura Johnston called it “one of their best records ever.”