The Foo Fighters are gearing up for their first live performance with new drummer Ilan Rubin.
The Dave Grohl-led rockers made a surprise announcement on Friday night (Sept. 12), revealing that they’re play an all-ages show at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California, on Saturday (Sept. 13).
The intimate gig at the 900-capacity venue will mark the band’s first official performance with Rubin, the former Nine Inch Nails drummer who joined the group earlier this summer.
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“SOUND ON. See you Saturday in San Luis Obispo,” the Foo Fighters wrote on Instagram, alongside a show poster.
Fans also quickly noticed a teaser of what seems to be a newly recorded track — and judging by the reaction, they’re fully on board with the riff-heavy sound.
“Yeeees this is the sound we like … Good heavy riffs! The boys are back to what they’re good at and it feels good!!” one fan commented.
Others speculated that the song may have roots in the band’s past live sets.
“They played this in-between All My Life in Birmingham a couple years ago. Glad they’re putting it out soon!” a fan noted. Another added, “It’s definitely not live yep. Maybe they didn’t wanna do it exactly the way they’d jammed it live? But the similarities are definitely there. It’s the 30th anniversary of the band this year, maybe they’re gonna release new versions of old songs? But it’s undeniably got All My Life influences here. Maybe it’ll be like a KISS – Sonic Boom scenario. Who knows.”
In the days leading up to the San Luis Obispo show, Foo Fighters dropped a pair of cryptic teasers on social media, including a nod to “Weird Al” Yankovic, who recorded his parody song “My Bologna” on the Cal Poly campus in 1979. They also shared a photo that appeared to show Grohl wearing a T-shirt from Boo Boo Records, a beloved local record store.
The band has been off the road since September 2024 and is set to return to the stage with upcoming shows in Indonesia (Oct. 2), Singapore (Oct. 4), Japan (Oct. 7, 8, 10) and Mexico City (Nov. 14).
The Foo Fighters released their 11th studio album, But Here We Are, in 2023, marking their first new music following the death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins. The group also marked its 30th anniversary in July with the release of a new track titled “Today’s Song.”
In July, the Foos officially announced Rubin as their new drummer following the departure of veteran session and live drummer Josh Freese, who joined the group in May 2023 after Hawkins’ passing.
Check out the Foo Fighters’ San Luis Obispo show announcement – and new song teaser – below on Instagram.
