At T-Mobile Park in Seattle on August 18, 2024, Dave cast his appreciative eye over the adoring crowd and suggested that the city would be the most fitting place to host Foo Fighters for their 30th anniversary the following year.
Anniversaries haven't exactly gone to plan for Foo Fighters. Between a broken leg and a global lockdown, those would be enough for the band to approach FF30 with a degree of trepidation. As the anniversary approached and was drowned out by news of personal issues and the recent departure of drummer Josh Freese, many fans also wondered - but also understood - if it would be skipped entirely. Initially, Dave's attention seemed redirected to his old gig, as the remaining members of Nirvana made a surprise unannounced appearance at the FireAid Benefit Concert in Los Angeles (with daughter Violet, St. Vincent, Kim Gordon, and Joan Jett) and at SNL50: The Homecoming Concert (with Post Malone).
In April 2025, as the first weekend of Coachella was kicking off, hopeful speculation rose about Foo Fighters making a return on one of the festival's stages for a surprise set, much like they did as 'The Churnups' at Glastonbury in 2023. On TikTok, local LA artist Shell Ainsworth posted a clip of herself painting on a lawn overlooking the Hollywood Bowl, where rehearsals for the festival were being held by Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic. Dudamel and LA Phil had previously announced that they'd be joined by numerous guests, and these clips were confirming their identities. On April 14, Shellae captured what was quickly identified as Dave's voice accompanying LA Phil in an orchestral rendition of 'Everlong'. Two more clips were posted by the same user, showing a second song being rehearsed, 'The Sky is a Neighborhood'. None of the other Foo Fighters were seen or heard in these clips. On April 19, during Dudamel and LA Phil's second set, Dave emerged solo and led the ensemble in both songs. The absence of his bandmates concerned some but the fact that he visibly still enjoyed performing the band's music fortified fans' hopes and beliefs in the band making an eventual return.
With time marching steadily closer to July 4, celebrations and retrospectives could be found in the fan community. A fan-run podcast, Foos Files, was launched to honour the band's history, spotlight fellow fans to share their stories, and respond to developing news. (Kirri Liepins from FooFightersLive.com was featured in an episode.)
Then, Foo Fighters joined the party...
An official Substack was created, Field Notes, chronicling key moments from their history broken into album eras. These images and videos were cross-posted to their social media profiles, including footage from their fourth-ever show at the Velvet Elvis Arts Lounge in Seattle that FooFightersLive.com located and released online in 2020. At the same time, they invited fans to test their band knowledge on the daily game platform Daysies, which refreshed with new games every day.
Producer and long-time friend Barrett Jones announced that he would be doing a livestream on his YouTube channel on July 2, marking the 30th anniversary since the Foo Fighters' debut self-titled album. The day before, however, Foo Fighters did their first surprise drop: A cover of Minor Threat's 'I Don't Wanna Hear It', with instrumentals recovered from the debut album's recording session and vocals completed in 2025. During this 1.5-hour stream, Barrett shared recollections of that session and many others he'd done with Dave dating way back to Freak Baby in 1984. Highlights include hearing the end of 'Exhausted' without the fade-out, an excerpt of previously unknown track 'Lips Bled' (recorded in 1990 for a session laying down tracks for Harlingtox A.D.), and a take of 'Gods Look Down' - the first known song that Dave wrote and recorded.
On July 2, the whispers of FF30 and new material became yells with an article in the Los Angeles Times, naming the song and its release date along with details on its lyrical content and a statement from Dave that would accompany the single drop. Several hours later, the new single from Foo Fighters was revealed: 'Today's Song'.
Dave sings: “You know that nothing can prepare you / Don’t let this cruel world compare you / Waiting for someone to repair you / Two sides to a river / Too troubled to cross / It might take you under” as he rides the emotional tide, carried by thunderous drum work and complemented by Rami’s delicate flourishes on keys. Dave's second-oldest daughter Harper painted the cover art, depicting a bird - possibly an albino crow or raven - and invoking a sense of grief and spiritual growth. Change is difficult, and growth is painful. Yet in typical Foo Fighters fashion, hope and endurance are also present.
The single drop was accompanied by a lengthy letter penned by Dave, and read by himself in an audio version uploaded to YouTube, he regails the listener with he story of how he and Nate met one fateful Thanksgiving evening, and how it forecast his future: A gathering of friends and a celebration of love and music. He emphasises how these friendships are at the core of all that Foo Fighters do, and that every contribution is meaningful and valid - leading to him taking a minute to give recognition to past band members William Goldsmith, Franz Stahl, and Josh Freese:
It should go without saying that without the boundless energy of William Goldsmith, the seasoned wisdom of Franz Stahl, and the thunderous wizardry of Josh Freese, this story would be incomplete, so we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the time, music, and memories that we shared with each of them over the years. Thank you, gentlemen.
Following this, a pause to give loving words for the dearly departed Taylor Hawkins:
And… Taylor. Your name is spoken every day, sometimes with tears, sometimes with a smile, but you are still in everything we do, everywhere we go, forever. The enormity of your beautiful soul is only rivaled by the infinite longing we feel in your absence. We all miss you beyond words. Foo Fighters will forever include Taylor Hawkins in every note that we play, until we do finally reach our destination.
The 3m14s song was written by Foo Fighters and produced by the band with Oliver Roman - Studio 606's audio engineer who also worked on But Here We Are, Dee Gees, and Dream Widow. Metadata found on the digital download has the date for the file as June 10, which may be the date of the recording session, but it is unknown at this time. Media outlets have reported confirmation that Dave plays drums on this track, as he did for But Here We Are. At the time of publishing, the line-up remains the same without an announcement of a permanent or touring drummer.
Agustin Esquibel aka. Animagu, whose previous work with the band includes all lyric videos for But Here Are, gif stickers, and Spotify Canvas album covers, did the animation for the YouTube audio clip.
'Today's Song' is offered as "the opening salvo" of the band's next chapter. Dave's letter plants a flag but not a finish line. This band of brothers has travelled many miles together, and the journey is still stretching on ahead of them. It is no small thing that we stand here bearing witness to the marking of thirty years since this all started, and the story of Foo Fighters continues to be written. With that in mind, we keenly await news of the band's next step and, on July 4, will celebrate FF30 and their building legacy.