Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age / Take Cover Tour / Lincoln Financial Field / Philadelphia / 8.13.2026

Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age have one of the best summer tours going in 2026. I caught the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, stop, and here are five things that stood out.

1. Queens of the Stone Age in a stadium is different.

Queens of the Stone Age bring it every time, but a stadium changes the equation. I don’t think I’m saying anything longtime Queens fans didn’t notice: Josh Homme looked a little… bored. They sounded great and still ripped, but the usual energy felt slightly zapped. The songs were there, the band was tight, and the performance was still unmistakably Queens. It just felt like the setting didn’t always give the band much to push against.

2. Queens of the Stone Age are at their best when things get weird.

That said, there were beautiful moments in their set that captured the same hauntingly weird, strangely beautiful vibe that makes Queens of the Stone Age what they are.

Watching Josh deliver the new track “Easy Street” from the catwalk to a half-empty stadium was hypnotizing and odd. That’s a pretty good definition of Queens of the Stone Age, and I think they’d agree. Those moments made it clear that the band’s appeal doesn’t depend entirely on scale. Queens can fill a room with tension and atmosphere, but in a stadium, that feeling comes in flashes rather than staying constant throughout the set.

3. Foo Fighters know exactly how to run a big show.

Foo Fighters know how to put on a stadium show, and it starts by hitting you with a bunch of major, upbeat songs in what I’ll call Act One. They come out swinging and have you hoarse from singing along within the first six or seven songs. There’s no slow build or waiting around for the show to find its footing. They understand that a crowd this size needs to be grabbed immediately, and they do exactly that. The pacing is deliberate without feeling overly calculated. Every song feels like it has a job, and the early part of the set is designed to make sure nobody in the building is sitting back passively.

4. The small stage is where the deep cuts live.

There’s the almost obligatory stadium-show switch to the small stage, but Foo Fighters make it feel like more than a production requirement. For longtime fans, it’s the highlight of the show. This is where the deep cuts come out. “Marigold” and “Wheels” back to back made for a great one-two punch. Dave keeps talking about “this is for old-school motherfuckers” throughout the show and then plays “Breakout.”

Dave, “Marigold” and “Wheels” are what old-school motherfuckers want.

The smaller stage also changes the mood of the night. After the massive opening stretch, the band suddenly feels closer and more conversational. It gives the audience a chance to hear songs that might not survive the demands of a stadium set otherwise.

5. Dave Grohl understands a crowd better than almost anyone.

The setlist pacing, the banter, the crowd interaction, and the constantly changing production all work together. The show keeps moving without feeling rushed. The stage changes, the smaller set, the big singalongs, and the quieter moments all give the night a sense of shape. Nothing overstays its welcome, and the audience always has something new to react to.

That all gets capped off with something nobody can deny they love: fireworks.

I truly mean this when I say I don’t think anybody understands how to work a crowd of this size, for a show of this length, better than Dave Grohl. I’m not sure how he gets through all of it vocally, to be honest with you. But whatever he’s doing is working.

Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age sharing a tour feels like something that should have happened many times over the past 25 years, ever since Dave Grohl guest-stepped behind the drum kit for Queens of the Stone Age. Better late than never. The pairing makes sense musically, historically, and emotionally. Queens bring the strange, heavy, hypnotic side of the night, while Foo Fighters deliver the massive, communal rock show they’ve spent decades perfecting. t’s a summer stadium tour that gives both bands room to be themselves, even if the scale suits Foo Fighters more naturally than Queens.

To see video and more shots from the show, head over to @superfuzz.frontrow