Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters participates in a Culinary demonstration during the 2026 BottleRock festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 23, 2026 in Napa, California.

Dave Grohl sprinted onto the main stage, flanked by the other members of the Foo Fighters, strumming his guitar. After reaching the microphone, the frenetic frontman addressed just one of the stalking elephants in the room. “It’s not our first BottleRock,” he said. “We’re going to squeeze as much as we can before they cut us off.”

The rock industry darling wasn’t coy about the Foo’s infamous appearance at the Napa festival nine years ago. BottleRock pulled the plug during their 2017 finale of “Everlong” due to a noise curfew. The silence prompted the audience to sing along to the immortal ballad — which even Bob Dylan has praised — and the moment was cemented in festival lore.

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Clearly, there were no hard feelings since the band returned in 2021 and again on Saturday night to close out the second day of the fest. But this performance was different from the rest. Beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins died in 2022, replaced by former Nine Inch Nails percussionist Ilan Rubin. Rubin clashed the cymbals with a precise fury. Shoeless, in a pair of Calvin Klein socks, he was the second hardest-working man on stage behind Grohl, but his presence felt overshadowed by Hawkins' premature passing. 

Meanwhile, it’s hard for a longtime fan like me to view Grohl in the same light as I did five years ago, as they last blasted through their 31-year catalog of prestige, radio-friendly rock. I’m still rattled by the aftershocks from his stunning confession in 2024 that he had fathered a child outside of his marriage. His betrayal subjected Jordyn Blum, a director and his wife for decades, to public ridicule. Not to mention their children. 

His off-stage behavior impacted how I listen to the music, but I went into the show with open ears ready to........

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