Foo Fighters to rock Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023 race-day concert

The show is part of the group’s comeback tour after the death of long-term drummer Taylor Hawkins

Singer Dave Grohl performs with the Foo Fighters during the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. AP

The Foo Fighters will play the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023 race-day concert on November 26 at Etihad Park.

The performance by the American rock group will be the last of four after-race concerts starting on November 23.

Kicking off the series will be Dutch DJ Tiesto and US pop star Ava Max, with the other two concerts on November 24 and 25 to be revealed closer to the date.

Access to all four concerts is exclusive to Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ticket holders.

The Foo Fighters’ Abu Dhabi show is the only international show by the band announced this year and forms part of their comeback tour as they hit the road again without drummer Taylor Hawkins.

The long-term member died in 2022 from a reported heart attack at the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota in Colombia on March 25. He was 50.

The band cancelled all future dates since the tragedy, with other members returning to the studio later that year to record their new album But Here We Are, which will be released on June 2.

But Rescued, an emotional track from the coming record, was released in April. The song opens with frontman Dave Grohl recalling some of the shock and despair felt after Hawkins’s passing.

“It came in a flash. It came out of nowhere. It happened so fast. And then it was over,” he sings.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Is this happening now? Are you feeling what I’m feeling? This is happening now.”

The Abu Dhabi show should also be particularly poignant for the Foo Fighters after they cancelled their 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race day concert following what event organisers described as “unforeseen medical circumstances".

The National went on to reveal a band member was taken to hospital from an airport in Chicago, while the group was travelling to Abu Dhabi.

A later controversial report by Rolling Stone investigating Hawkins's final months featured an interview with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who referred to a December 2021 incident in which Hawkins "was exhausted and collapsed, and they had to pump him full of IVs".

While unconfirmed, it is assumed that the incident Smith referred to occurred before the band’s scheduled appearance in Abu Dhabi.

Foo Fighters will play their first public show in eight months on May 24 in the US city of Gilford, with the show kicking off a five-month North American tour ending on October 15.

In addition to songs from But Here we Are, expect an expansive and hit-laden list with songs spanning 11 albums, including anthems My Hero, Monkey Wrench and Best of You.

The identity of the band's new drummer has yet to be revealed.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023 after-race concerts series will be organised by Ethara, a new events and entertainment company created through the merging of Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management and Flash Entertainment.

Officially launched on Tuesday and meaning “thrill” in Arabic, Ethara will have offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh, and aims to provide and create entertainment events across the Middle East.

Tickets are available online at www.abudhabigp.com and through the Yas Marina Circuit Call Centre on 800 927 or 02 659 9800.

From Beyonce to Stormzy: 45 artists who played at the Abu Dhabi F1 After-Race Concerts — in pictures