{"id":421,"date":"2026-05-25T05:07:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T05:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=421"},"modified":"2026-05-25T05:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T05:07:38","slug":"review-bottlerock-favorite-makes-triumphant-return-to-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=421","title":{"rendered":"Review: BottleRock favorite makes triumphant return to festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>A true BottleRock Napa Valley favorite was back in action on Day 2 of the 2026 festival.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=419\">US, Iran Inch Toward Deal as Gaps Remain on Uranium, Sanctions<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cLadies and gentlemen, it\u2019s good to be back at the BottleRock,\u201d Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said as his band took the biggie Prudential Stage for its headlining set on Saturday (May 23). \u201cThis is not our first BottleRock. We\u2019ve been here before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, they had \u2014 having also headlined the festival in 2017 and 2021. And this time, the Foo Fighters did not break curfew like it did in its BottleRock debut, instead bringing its 2026 set to close a good 15 minutes or so before the 10 p.m. mandatory shutoff. (Grohl is actually repeat curfew offender, having also blown past the 10 p.m. deadline when he sat in during the Guns N\u2019 Roses set in 2021.)<\/p>\n<p>The one thing that has not changed for the Foo Fighters over their years, however, is that they sure still know how to rock the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>These alt-rock champions were definitely on top of their game as they rolled through a 22-song set in almost exactly two hours. As per usual, the Foo Fighters frontloaded the set \u2014 a very smart move for getting these festival fans on their side \u2014 as they rocked out such favorites as \u201cAll My Life,\u201d \u201cTimes Like These\u201d and \u201cThe Pretender.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlright (expletive), you want to dance?\u201d asked Grohl, as his long black hair waved wildly around his shoulders and face. \u201cLet\u2019s dance!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The group \u2014 which also consists of bassist Nate Mendel, guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, keyboardist Rami Jaffee and drummer Ilan Rubin \u2014 was locked in for \u201cThe Pretender,\u201d to the point where Grohl had to stop playing in order fix the damage he inflicted upon his axe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI rocked that one so (expletive) hard I broke the (expletive) strings,\u201d the vocalist-guitarist said with a mix of pride and humor.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Those who came to the show in hopes of hearing a bunch of tracks off the band\u2019s newly released 12th album \u2014 which, let\u2019s face it, may have been about a half-dozen people of the 40,000-plus fans in attendance \u2014 certainly didn\u2019t get what they were hoping for.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=418\">Wembanyama\u2019s huge game helps Spurs trounce Thunder, even West finals<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The group played just one new album cut \u2014 the title track to \u201cYour Favorite Toy,\u201d which hit stores in April.<\/p>\n<p>Mainly, the Foo Fighters stuck to the hits that drove them right into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility \u2014 2021 \u2014 and made Grohl, who was first enshrined as member of Nirvana in 2014, a two-time inductee. I\u2019m talking about such longtime alt-rock radio staples as \u201cThese Days,\u201d \u201cWalk,\u201d \u201cMy Hero\u201d and \u201cLearn to Fly\u201d \u2014 four tunes delivered in powerful, synergetic succession, like a right-left-right-left combo from a heavyweight boxer, in the first half of the set.<\/p>\n<p>Grohl did occasionally go beyond the hits, something that he knew longtime Foo followers would appreciate, treating the crowd to \u201cLa Dee Da,\u201d \u201cHey, Johnny Park!\u201d and \u201cExhausted,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The biggest treat in this regard, which anyone other than a massive Foo fan might have overlooked, was \u201cJesus Doesn\u2019t Want Me for a Sunbeam\u201d \u2014 the renamed take on the Vaselines\u2019 \u201cJesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam\u201d that Grohl\u2019s Nirvana made famous on 1994\u2019s \u201cMTV Unplugged in New York.\u201d As far as I can tell, this marked the very first time that Foo Fighters performed the song live.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe play the deep cuts for the Foo fan,\u201d Grohl remarked.<\/p>\n<p>Grohl was his regular powerhouse on vocals, routinely making one wonder how he manages to not lose his voice from all that screaming, and he combined with Smear and Shiflett for a mighty three-guitar attack.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, Rubin, himself a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his former gig with Nine Inch Nails, provided plenty of powerhouse moments as well. He\u2019s a man of true thunder, who used this BottleRock set to further confirm that Grohl definitely made the right call in turning to him to replace former Foo drummer Josh Freese in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s the Pat Smear of drums,\u201d Grohl said of Rubin.<\/p>\n<p>The group closed up shop in the way that pretty much everybody hoped\/expected, bringing Day 2 of the festival to a close with the soaring signature anthem \u201cEverlong,\u201d and leaving the crowd ready to return to see the Backstreet Boys, Sombr, Larkin Poe, Ludacris and others acts take the stage on the third and final day of the 2026 BottleRock Napa Valley on Sunday (May 24).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Foo Fighters setlist, according to our notes and information from setlist.fm:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) \u201cAll My Life\u201d<br \/>\n2) \u201cTimes Like These\u201d<br \/>\n3) \u201cRope\u201d<br \/>\n4) \u201cThe Pretender\u201d<br \/>\n5) \u201cLa Dee Da\u201d<br \/>\n6) \u201cThese Days\u201d<br \/>\n7) \u201cWalk\u201d<br \/>\n8) \u201cMy Hero\u201d<br \/>\n9) \u201cLearn to Fly\u201d<br \/>\n10) \u201cJesus Doesn\u2019t Want Me for a Sunbeam\u201d<br \/>\n11) \u201cThis Is a Call\u201d<br \/>\n12) \u201cYour Favorite Toy\u201d<br \/>\n13) \u201cNothing at All\u201d<br \/>\n14) \u201cI\u2019ll Stick Around\u201d<br \/>\n15) \u201cMonkey Wrench\u201d<br \/>\n16) Drum Solo<br \/>\n17) \u201cHey, Johnny Park!\u201d<br \/>\n18) \u201cAurora\u201d<br \/>\n19) \u201cBig Me\u201d<br \/>\n20) \u201cBest of You\u201d<br \/>\n21) \u201cExhausted\u201d<br \/>\n22) \u201cEverlong\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=416\">Bay FC experiences a franchise-first in disappointing home loss<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review: Dave Grohl leads Foo Fighters in concert at BottleRock Napa music festival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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