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Foo Fighters Join Gustavo Dudamel at Hollywood Bowl
(L-R) Nate Mendel, Rami Jaffee, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Ilan Rubin of Foo Fighters attend Amazon Music Live Season 4 at East End Studios on October 30, 2025 in Glendale, California. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Foo Fighters played their first-ever Hollywood Bowl show on Aug. 22, teaming with conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles for a one-off concert built around orchestral arrangements of the band's catalog. The event, billed as "Celebrating Gustavo at the Bowl," served as a send-off for Dudamel, who is stepping down after 17 years as the LA Philharmonic's music director to take over as music director of the New York Philharmonic beginning with the 2026-27 season. Proceeds benefited the LA Phil's learning and community programs.

Dave Grohl and the band ran through a 15-song set mixing marquee hits with material dormant for years, opening with "Times Like These" and moving through staples including "All My Life," "The Pretender," "Walk," "My Hero," "Learn to Fly," "Run," "Best of You" and set-closer "Everlong," all reworked for full orchestra.

The rarities were the real draw. "I Should Have Known," from 2011's "Wasting Light," returned to a Foo Fighters set list for the first time since 2012, per one outlet's reporting. "Razor," from 2005's "In Your Honor," had not been played live since 2006. "Home," from 2007's "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," was identified as among the night's rarest selections — one outlet reported it as only the song's ninth performance ever, while another described it as the tune's first outing since 2007; both accounts agree it is among the least-played numbers in the band's catalog. "Aurora," from 1999's "There Is Nothing Left to Lose," was reportedly dedicated to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in 2022.

The pairing of Grohl and Dudamel was not a first — the two previously collaborated at Coachella 2025, when Dudamel and an orchestral ensemble backed the band on "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" and "Everlong," both of which also appeared in Saturday's set.

No word yet on whether Saturday's arrangements will be released commercially or whether Foo Fighters and Dudamel plan further collaborations once he relocates to New York.

This article first appeared on Music Times and was syndicated with permission.

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