Foo Fighters at McDonald Jones Stadium: what to know

Newcastle's big night out is locked in. The Foo Fighters bring their Take Cover Tour to McDonald Jones Stadium in Broadmeadow on Thursday 12 November, one night only, with the show starting at 5:30 pm. It's the second Australian stop of the tour, coming two days after their Accor Stadium show on Tuesday 10 November, so the band will be well into their groove by the time they hit the Hunter.

For anyone who hasn't caught them before, the Foo Fighters are the American rock band Dave Grohl formed in Seattle in 1994 after his time drumming with Nirvana. The current line-up rounds out with Nate Mendel on bass, Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett on guitar, Rami Jaffee on keyboards and Ilan Rubin on drums, and the band has picked up 15 Grammy Awards along the way, five of them for Best Rock Album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, and their latest album, Your Favorite Toy, came out in April with singles like Asking for a Friend and Of All People.

Tickets are sold exclusively through AXS, and there's a fair spread of options depending on where you want to stand or sit. Front General Admission on the standing field is A$249.90, the same as A Reserve seating, while Rear General Admission and B Reserve both sit at A$199.90. C Reserve is A$149.90 and D Reserve A$99.90, so there's a way in even if you're happy to be further back. AXS Premium tickets are limited and won't exceed A$624.75, and there's a cap of eight tickets per purchaser. It's a licensed all-ages show, recommended for ages five and up, with children under 14 needing to be accompanied and the standing areas suggested for ages 15 and over.

The opening slots are worth paying attention to as well. The Buoys are an all-woman indie rock band from Sydney whose debut album, Lustre, landed at number seven on the ARIA Albums Chart, and they're touring this run on the back of their second album, Concrete Cowboy, produced by Chris Collins. Joining them are C.O.F.F.I.N., the hard rock four-piece from Sydney's Northern Beaches who formed as schoolmates back in 2005 and signed with the p(doom) label in June, with their sixth studio album, Out In Oslo, out since 18 September.

As for the venue, McDonald Jones Stadium, also known as the Newcastle International Sports Centre, is the home ground of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL and the Newcastle Jets in the A-League Men, and it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 10 April 1970 as the International Sports Centre, with McDonald Jones Homes now holding the sponsorship rights. It holds 33,000 people, 23,000 of them seated, so it's a big room for a big band. With the show starting at 5:30 pm, it's worth getting in early to catch the supports before the headliners take over.