Foo Fighters unveiled their new drummer, Josh Freese, at their ‘Foo Fighters: Preparing Music For Concerts’ livestream on Sunday (21.05.23).
The 50-year-old session drummer will perform with Dave Grohl and co in the place of late drummer Taylor Hawkins – who tragically died last year aged 50 – on their upcoming tour.
Josh is known for playing for the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails and Paramore.
He was among several drummers to pay tribute to Taylor at a pair of tribute concerts in Los Angeles and London.
The ‘Learn to Fly’ rockers’ tour kicks off on May 24 in New Hampshire.
The confirmation comes after Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron and The Darkness’ Rufus Taylor were rumoured to be taking the position.
Taylor was found dead in his hotel room in Colombia, in March 2022, hours before the band was due to play a festival in Bogotá.
The Foos have dedicated their upcoming album to Taylor, and Dave’s late mother Virginia Hanlon Grohl.
The ‘Walk’ rockers will release ‘But Here We Are’ on June 2, and they’ve shared that the record is in honour of their beloved bandmate, and the frontman’s parent, who passed away the same year.
Sharing the minimalist white cassette and album cover for the LP, which is designed by Morning Breath INC, the Grammy winning-group tweeted the album dedication: “For Virginia and Taylor.”
The follow-up to 2021’s ‘Medicine at Midnight’ is described as: “A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year.”
In a letter to fans, the ‘Best of You’ hitmakers vowed to be “a different band going forward” following the devastating loss of Taylor.
They wrote: “As we say goodbye to the most difficult and tragic year that our band has ever known, we are reminded of how thankful we are for the people that we love and cherish most, and for the loved ones who are no longer with us.
“Foo Fighters were formed 27 years ago to represent the healing power of music and a continuation of life. And for the past 27 years our fans have built a worldwide community, a devoted support system that has helped us all get through the darkest of times together. A place to share our joy and our pain, our hopes and fears, and to join in a chorus of life together through music. Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were — and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward.
“We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you and we know that when we see you again — and we will soon — he’ll be there in spirit with all of us every night.”