Foo Fighters land at McDonald Jones Stadium

Newcastle is about to tick a big one off its live music bucket list. On Thursday 12 November, the Foo Fighters bring their Take Cover Tour to McDonald Jones Stadium for one night only, and it marks the first time the band has ever played in the city. For a place with a long love affair with rock, that first-ever gig is a genuine moment.

If you've never caught them live, here's the shape of what you're getting into. The Foo Fighters started in Seattle in 1994 as a solo project for ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, and the name itself comes from the 'foo fighters' — the strange aerial phenomena reported by Allied pilots during the Second World War. Since then they've grown into one of the biggest rock acts on the planet, with twelve studio albums, sixteen EPs, 57 singles and 15 Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album five times. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and picked up the first-ever Global Icon award at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2021.

The line-up on stage has shifted over the years, and the tour brings the current version: Dave Grohl on vocals and guitar, Nate Mendel on bass, Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett on guitars, Rami Jaffee on keyboards and Ilan Rubin on drums. Rubin joined in July 2025, following the passing of Taylor Hawkins in March 2022 and a stint by Josh Freese. The setlist is expected to be a career-spanning run of anthems, from the early days of The Colour and the Shape and There Is Nothing Left to Lose through to But Here We Are and their latest, Your Favorite Toy, released in April this year.

Opening the bill are two Australian acts. The Buoys are a Sydney alternative rock band formed in 2016, fronted by Zoe Catterall, with Tess Wilkin on drums, Courtney Cunningham on bass and Hilary Geddes on lead guitar; their debut album, Lustre, came out in July 2024. C.O.F.F.I.N. — Children of Finland Fighting in Norway — are Sydney hard rock veterans who formed in 2005 as schoolmates, and they're about to drop a new album, Out in Oslo, on 18 September, so they'll be touring fresh material.

On the practical side, tickets are on sale now and go exclusively through AXS. Show times are still to be confirmed, so keep an eye on your email as the date gets closer. The stadium is at 294 Turton Road in Broadmeadow and it's set up for a big night: there's a cafe, a bar, a carpark and public toilets on site, and it welcomes people with access needs. For getting there, there's a bus and taxi stop right at the front entrance on Turton Road, and Broadmeadow station is about a 15-minute walk away. A word of caution: on match days parking is for pre-paid ticket holders only, so for a special event like this, it's worth checking the latest transport and parking arrangements before you set off. With the stadium's East and West grandstands both offering accessible seating and lift access to the upper level, it's built to handle a crowd of all kinds. One night only, first time in Newcastle — it's the kind of gig that'll be talked about long after the last chord.