Foo Fighters surprise set at Glastonbury Festival 2023
Foo Fighters played surprise set at Glastonbury tonight (23 June).
The band took to the Pyramid Stage at 6.15pm in a slot which was billed under the name The Churnups. They opened with All My Life to an applause from the crowd.
The set also included a short instrumental section of parts of hit songs from famous rock bands including Metallica and Black Sabbath.
They closed with Everlong and lead singer Dave Grohl dedicated the performance to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died last year.
Grohl said: “So let’s sing this one loud, we’re missing Taylor.”
Glastonbury festival-goers have praised the performance. John McGuckin, from Belfast, said: “Incredible, I’m not going to lie, I shed a tear at the end, it was that good.
“Phenomenal, phenomenal.”
Fiona Anderson, also from Belfast, said: “I wish I had more voice, I’m screamed out.”
When asked if they were expecting the band to make an appearance, John said: “Well we had heard rumours, but we weren’t really expecting much, but we’re absolutely blown away.”
An hour before the slot, the band posted a photo of flags within the festival crowd, one with the phrase Churn It Up brandished across it, and tagged the post #Glastonbury 2023.
Lead singer Dave Grohl was spotted backstage earlier today
Co-organiser Emily Eavis told Radio 2 this morning: “To be honest, I think there’s a lot of rumours that are circulating about The Churnups – one of which is true.
“I don’t think I can completely confirm, but it’s coming soon.
“But this is a huge, huge, huge, huge surprise and we have kept this secret for so long, just me and (her husband) Nick, we didn’t even tell the kids we were like ‘Nobody can know this’ and I think it’s going to be extraordinary later.”
It was the rock band’s third time headlining the festival after topping the bill on 2007 and 2013.
The slot was followed by rock duo Royal Blood and then the night will close with Arctic Monkeys.
If you're wondering how the band got to Glastonbury, it was by train. Great Western Railway shared a photo of Grohl and said: "Even rock royalty knows that there is no better way to travel to Glastonbury than by train! You never know who is going to churn up on board our trains!"