Foo Fighters Rock Soldier Field

by Tom Wojcik and photos by Roman Sobus

Saturday, August 8, 2026 - Chicago, IL / Soldier Field

"Do you like rock 'n' roll music?," asked Dave Grohl multiple times to the nearly sold-out Soldier Field on a hot summer Saturday night.

At 8:00PM, like a papal announcement, red flares popped off from atop the stage and lighting rigs, magenta-toned smoke blowing across Soldier Field as the ceremony was about to begin. Lights went down, cell phones lit up, and the monotone riff of "All My Life" opened the night, complete with the audience nailing the first shout-along of the night with 60,000 screaming "Hey, don't let it go to waste, I love it but I hate the taste!"

Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age Rock Soldier Field

Drenching himself in water from head to toe just 10 minutes in, founder / guitarist / singer Grohl promises, "We're gonna play 31 years of songs for you," continuing with "The Pretender," the only track from 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace album, later followed by radio friendly heart-tuggers "Times Like These" and "My Hero."

Grohl and his company didn't fill space for the next 3 hours, they seemed to have planned tonight's setlist precisely. The first hour were nearly all well-known hits, belted out with Grohl's one of a kind smiling swagger, screaming "This Is A Call" just as he did in 1995, and including a verse of "Ace Of Spades" as a nod to Grohl's close friend, Motorhead mastermind Lemmy Kilmister, during "No Son Of Mine."

Grohl gave shoutouts to the old school faithful fans all night, but it was when the band wheeled themselves out to about the 30-yard line with a stripped down, acoustic stage lit up on three sides, where David tried to get intimate with a football stadium amount of ears, talking and telling stories behind songs.

"Marigold" was dedicated to late Chicago musician and producer Steve Albini, who famously helmed duties behind Nirvana's 1993's In Utero sessions. Dave explained they stopped playing "Big Me" due to Mentos being continuously thrown at him, but they added it on this night, with Grohl keeping an eye on hurling punters. "Under You" followed, where Grohl explained the songs origin, being created while sleeping on a couch with roommate Kurt Cobain.

Practically 2 hours in, the Foo Fighters brought out a medley which included a nod to each Foo members previous bands - "Invincible" by guitarist Chris Shifflet's punk outfit No Use For A Name, guitarist Pat Smear via The Germs and "Manimal", bassist Nate Mendel previously of Sunny Day Real Estate doing "Seven", and The Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee performing "Cinderella," - and fan favorite "Monkey Wrench," bookended by a ferocious drum solo by current stickman Ilan Rubin, formerly of Nine Inch Nails - who swapped thrones with Foos previous drummer Josh Freese. Of course late drummer Taylor Hawkins' memory was remembered as Grohl dedicated 1999's "Aurora" to the drummer who passed in 2022.

By this point, "Exhausted" is a perfect word play as the band did a final, three song encore to end the show that Grohl called "the biggest Foo Fighters show ever in Chicago."

Foo Fighters Setlist
All My Life
The Pretender
Times Like These
Rope
Stacked Actors
My Hero
Learn To Fly
These Days
Walk
This Is A Call
No Son Of Mine (with "Ace of Spades")
Wheels
Marigold
Big Me
Under You
La Dee Da
Run
Medley (Invincible / Seven / One Headlight / Manimal / Tap Dancing In A Minefield)
Monkey Wrench
Breakout
The Sky Is A Neighborhood
Aurora
Caught In The Echo
Best Of You
-ENCORE-
The Teacher
Exhausted
Everlong

Queens Of The Stone Age Setlist
Regular John
The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
My God Is The Sun
Time & Place
Little Sister
Domesticated Animals
Make it With Chu
I Appear Missing
Go With The Flow
No One Knows
A Song For The Dead