Friday was no exception to Jazz Fest's everlong streak of legendary music acts, as the iconic rock group Foo Fighters rocked the Festival Stage Friday night, led by singer and guitarist Dave Grohl.
According to NOLA.com, it was a performance that showed off the band's vitality and paid tribute to its past, which included a recording session at Preservation Hall and the recent death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died at 50 after a concert in 2022.
The band's lead singer and guitarist, Dave Grohl, 55, reminisced about his recording sessions at Preservation Hall during Friday's performance, dedicating the Foo Fighters' song, "Shame Shame" to the Hall.
In 2014, Grohl spent a week in New Orleans based at Preservation Hall, while directing an episode in a miniseries about the music history of New Orleans.
"The best week of my life was spent here with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band," Grohl said on Friday. "Y'all are so lucky to have Preservation Hall at your doorstep. I wish every city had a Preservation Hall."
Grohl also included himself in the thousands who were electrified by The Rolling Stones performance at Jazz Fest Thursday night.
"If there is proof that rock 'n' roll is still alive," Grohl said Friday. "It's the Rolling Stones."
The Stones' set not only marked the first time the legendary British rock group performed at the festival but also the first time lead singer Mick Jagger, 80, sang a duet with Soul Queen of New Orleans Irma Thomas, 83, for the song "Time is On My Side," 60 years after its original release. Both Thomas and The Stones had a hit with that song in 1964, with Jagger's vocal rendition on the track riffing off of Thomas' earlier version.
Foo Fighters had been booked for the 2022 Jazz Fest but Hawkins' death led the band to cancel only a month out. Josh Freese, who has drummed for Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring and Devo filled the drummer spot that had been occupied by Hawkins.
The band plays their 1999 song "Aurora" at every show in honor of Hawkins. And Friday's performance was no exception.
"It was Taylor Hawkins' favorite Foo Fighters song. We always had fun down here," Grohl said Friday. "He always had fun everywhere. He would have loved to be here. Maybe he is."
