Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters began as Dave Grohl’s one-man project after Nirvana disbanded in 1994. Grohl recorded the group’s self-titled 1995 debut almost entirely alone, completing it in six days before the material attracted label interest. He then assembled a touring band with bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, alongside guitarist Pat Smear, who had toured with Nirvana. Foo Fighters made their first public performance in February 1995, five months before the debut album arrived.

The early lineup shifted during the making of The Colour and the Shape, released in 1997. Goldsmith left the sessions and Grohl re-recorded most of the album’s drum parts; Smear departed soon after. Taylor Hawkins became the drummer and Franz Stahl, Grohl’s former Scream bandmate, took Smear’s place on guitar. Stahl was dismissed before the recording of 1999’s There Is Nothing Left to Lose, leaving the band briefly as a trio until guitarist Chris Shiflett joined after the album had been completed.

The group followed with One by One in 2002 and In Your Honor in 2005, a two-disc set divided between acoustic material and heavier songs. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace arrived in 2007. For 2011’s Wasting Light, produced by Butch Vig, Smear returned as a full-time member after regularly appearing with the band from 2005 onward. Sonic Highways, released in 2014, also served as the soundtrack to Grohl’s television miniseries. Concrete and Gold followed in 2017, becoming the band’s second US chart-topping album and the first to include longtime session and touring keyboardist Rami Jaffee as a full member.

Medicine at Midnight, released in 2021, was the final Foo Fighters album before Hawkins died in March 2022. The band released But Here We Are in June 2023. Josh Freese played drums from 2023 to 2025, with Ilan Rubin taking over from 2025; the group’s twelfth album, Your Favorite Toy, was released in April 2026. The current lineup comprises Grohl, Mendel, Smear, Shiflett, Jaffee and Rubin.

Foo Fighters have won 15 Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album five times. In 2021, they received the first Global Icon award at the MTV Video Music Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.