Foo Fighters to rock Geelong at one-off stadium concert on March 4

US rock band the first major international act to visit Australian shores in two years, with a one-off stadium show in Geelong next month.

Dave Grohl performs with his band Foo Fighters in Hollywood, California on February 16, ahead of a one-off concert to be held at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium on March 4, 2022. Picture: Rich Fury/Getty

American rock band Foo Fighters will become the first major international act to visit Australian shores in two years when it performs a concert at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium next Friday, March 4.

The one-off gig was announced on Wednesday as part of Always Live, a contemporary music program which will become the newest addition to Victoria’s major events calendar alongside the likes of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Australian Open, the Boxing Day Test and the AFL Grand Final.

The Foo Fighters concert is presented by Frontier Touring, the Melbourne-based music company owned by Mushroom Group, which has a longstanding relationship with the Dave Grohl-fronted act.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Mushroom Group chief executive Matt Gudinski highlighted the role of his late father, Michael Gudinski, in establishing the new initiative.

“Always Live was a passion project for my dad to ensure Victoria continued to be recognised as the music capital of Australia, and Melbourne as one of the leading music cities in the world,” said Matt Gudinski, who is also Always Live chair.

“Dad worked tirelessly over many years to bring his vision and concept to life and to obtain the support of the Victorian government,” he said. “The initiative has been in the works for a long time and has been impacted by Covid-19 leading to several postponements of its launch and delivery. I’m honoured to be part of now making it a reality at a time when the live music scene needs all the support it can get.”

“The focus of this year’s instalment of Always Live is reinvigorating and reconnecting the state through the power of live music,” said Gudinski. “I know Dad would be very proud to see the event launched and form a major part of re-establishing a thriving live music scene.”

Traditionally known as Kardinia Park, GHMBA Stadium is the home ground of the Geelong Football Club and the A-League football team Western United FC. With a current crowd capacity of 36,000 while undergoing redevelopment, it is one of the largest regional stadiums in Australia.

The staging of the Geelong concert is timely, as restrictions on live music events large and small were removed late last week in both Victoria and NSW, bringing both states in line with the restriction-free Queensland live music sector.

“This is the first of many highlights to feature in the Always Live program and there are more exciting announcements to follow in the coming weeks,” said Always Live chief executive Steve Smith, who noted the event series will be held at several locations across the state

The one-off Geelong gig next week sees Frontier Touring get the jump on promoter Andrew McManus, who recently told The Australian that his Under the Southern Stars tour would be the first to see international talent returning to our shores. His 12-date national tour – featuring American rock bands Cheap Trick, Stone Temple Pilots and Black Rebel Motor­cycle Club, as well as British quartet Bush – begins in Newcastle on March 11 and finishes in Brisbane on March 27.

Dave Grohl performing with Foo Fighters at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on the band’s last Australian tour in 2018. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The 10th album by Foo Fighters, Medicine at Midnight, was released 12 months ago and debuted at No.1 on the ARIA chart.

This week, the band premieres the cinematic release of its horror comedy film Studio 666, while in October, Grohl published his book The Storyteller, which The Australian described as a top-tier music memoir packed with plenty of heart, emotion and vulnerability.

In the book, Grohl wrote of the unique sensation of fronting a stadium-sized rock ‘n’ roll band that allows him to “live out my innermost Freddie Mercury fantasies on a nightly basis”.

Of playing major concerts, Grohl wrote: “Hearing a time-delayed full-throated singalong ricocheting from the farthest rafters of a football stadium is an out-of-body sensation, one that becomes oddly addictive over time, echoing in a chorus of sublime connectivity. The open air, hitting you in gusts that give your hair a perfect Beyonce blowout while you inhale the aroma of sweat and beer that sometimes rises from the crowd in a foglike condensation. That roar of fireworks above your head as you take your final bow and sprint to the room-temperature pepperoni pizza waiting in your dressing room. Believe me, it is all that it’s cracked up to be and more.”

That’s the atmosphere Grohl and his bandmates will be sharing with fans at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium next Friday, with support from Australian punk rock acts Amyl & The Sniffers and The Meanies.