Foo Fighters Play First Show with New Drummer Ilan Rubin

Foo Fighters performed with new drummer Ilan Rubin for the first time Saturday night at their first show of 2025, in San Luis Obispo, California’s 900-capacity Fremont Theater. Rubin, formerly of Nine Inch Nails, joined the band this summer after the Foos parted ways with Josh Freese, who had stepped in after the 2022 death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins.

At one point, frontman Dave Grohl introduced Rubin from the stage. “Everybody else has said it,” Grohl said. “I finally get the opportunity to say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, will you please welcome…’ The most badass motherfucker, Ilan Rubin, is playing drums in the Foo Fighters right now. It’s official. You can stamp the passport.”

The surprise performance, announced the day before, featured 25 songs in all, including hits like “Everlong” and “Learn to Fly,” and a handful of tracks that haven’t been played live in several years.  Among them was “Exhausted,” from the Foos’ first album, which Grohl wrote while he was still in Nirvana and even played for Kurt Cobain as a potential song for that band. They also played “Winnebago,” another Grohl composition that preceded the existence of the Foos.

The announcement for the show on the Foos’ Instagram included a teaser of what appeared to be a new track. The Foos will hit the road shortly, playing tour dates in Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Mexico before the end of the year.  Earlier this year Foo Fighters, dropped their first new music since 2023’s But Here We Are: the new track “Today’s Song”  and a cover of Minor Threat’s “I Don’t Wanna Hear It.”