The last Italian night of the Foo Fighters, eight years ago

The Foo Fighters have not set foot in our country since June 14, 2018. That evening, at the Visarno Arena, in the heart of the Cascine Park in Florence, over 65 thousand people attended the last Italian concert of Dave Grohl’s band, headliner of the first day of Firenze Rocks. Today the only Italian date of the “Take cover tour 2026” was announced at the I-Days in Milan and the anticipation, even if there are almost eight months to go, is already sky-high. Just like what happened in 2018.

After the historic date of Cesena of 2015 – born from the famous feat of the thousand Rockin’1000 fans – the Italian public was anxiously awaiting the return of the Foo Fighters. The opportunity came three years later with the world tour of “Concrete and Gold”, an album that brought them back to the center of the international rock scene. The cast of that day a Florence it was already a manifesto of the festival in itself: before Grohl and his companions, Wolf Alice, The Kills and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes performed.

At 9pm sharp “All My Life” started. Roar. From then on, a crescendo without pauses: “The Pretender”, “Learn to Fly”, “Walk”, “My Hero”, “Best of You”, up to “Everlong”, which closed the evening with a collective chorus. Dave Grohl proved once again that he is a stage animal: screaming, running, joking, singing with the power that distinguishes him. At his side, the late Taylor Hawkins kept time; moreover, it was true Hawkins’ death to cancel the FF’s return to Italy at the 2022 I-Days. Then, halfway through the set, the twist.

Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses joined the Foo Fighters for an incendiary version of “It’s So Easy.” The audience was in a frenzy, of course. Two of the most iconic bands in world rock on the same stage, in Italy, in front of tens of thousands of people. The kind of surprise that turns a good concert into a historic event.

Read our review of that unforgettable Florentine evening here.