Foo Fighters to headline Rock in Rio 2026 with Taylor Hawkins tribute

Foo Fighters are set to headline the opening day of Rock in Rio 2026 on Friday, September 4. The performance will include a tribute to their late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, who passed away in 2022.

Dave Grohl has indicated that the band intends to perform ‘Aurora’, a song from the 1999 album ‘There is Nothing Left to Lose’. Grohl noted that ‘Aurora’ holds special significance as it was the first song he, Hawkins, and bassist Nate Mendel composed together in Grohl’s basement in Virginia. The band also frequently performs ‘Under You’ as a tribute to Hawkins.

The headline appearance follows Grohl’s long musical trajectory, moving from his role as the drummer for Nirvana during the grunge explosion of the early 1990s to becoming the frontman and leader of the Foo Fighters.