This weekend saw Foo Fighters complete two sold out shows at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, where the band were joined on stage by two very special guests.
The US rock titans’ only scheduled UK shows of 2026 (with the band teasing more to come next year) kicked off on Thursday June 25. In the latter part of the show, frontman Dave Grohl picked out (who was assumed to be) a fan from the audience, holding a sign that challenged the band to let him play a song if he could complete a Rubik’s cube.
He took to the stage and the audience was led to believe he had done so, before the plucky young man sat behind the kit to blast through ‘Rope’ with the band. After the song, he revealed his name was Max before Grohl replied: “I know your name is Max because it’s your 18th birthday and you’re my daughters boyfriend”. The sold-out crowd then proceeded to sing him ‘Happy Birthday’.
Reviewing the show, NME wrote: “He smashes it [on the drums], then the illusion is shattered when we learn it’s actually the boyfriend of Grohl’s daughter Harper, and today is his 18th birthday. After an admirably out there encore of the psych-y meandering of ‘The Teacher’ and early deep cut ‘Exhausted’, the staple closing banger ‘Everlong’ and the red fireworks lighting up the sky make everyone in Liverpool feel like it’s their special day.”
@geebann0 Dave grohl takes fan onstage in Liverpool!! #foofighters jokeeees its max
♬ original sound – GBan
Then on the following Saturday show, a keen fan dressed as a giant pack of Mentos in tribute to the band’s Footos branding in their classic video for early single ‘Big Me’. Upon spotting him, Grohl then invited him up on stage to sing with the band from the B-stage.
“When shit like this happens, that means this is the night of our lives, so thank you,” Grohl told the crowd after.
“The photographer spotted me and started posting about it on Instagram, then the Foo Fighters reposted the photo and when the time came for ‘Big Me’, I think the whole crowd of people made some noise so they would see me,” the fan, a 31-year-old named Marc, told the Liverpool Echo.
Foo Fighters bringing a fan on stage (who was dressed up as a the Mentos wrapping) in Liverpool @foofighters
Best moment of the night!!! pic.twitter.com/MmSX2ftVu2
— Maca☀️ (@Macainconcerts) June 28, 2026
Ayer, FOO FIGHTERS hizo subir al escenario al mejor disfraz, #MentosGuy (Marc Bautista) e interpretaron “Big Me”. pic.twitter.com/kOUim7fpHF
— µzq (@AcostaMzk) June 29, 2026
Marc, a Spanish fan who also plays in Foos tribute band Fool Fakers, added: “It was awesome. This is my dream. This is my fucking dream. In my head I was repeating ‘keep calm, keep calm’. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself while living out my dream. I am still processing it.”
“I didn’t want to make a fool of myself while living out my dream. I am still processing it.”
In NME‘s conclusion of the opening Anfield show, the review ended: “It all feels a little too familiar to the usual Foos fare, but Radiohead they are not. This is what they do. Grohl asks why oh why the band are only playing these two Liverpool gigs in their home away from home of the UK this year, but assures us that this is merely “a cocktail party before the big dinner” – with talk of some big plans in Blighty for 2027. For now, “this is just the first date”, so pucker up for Saturday and party on.”
While in Liverpool, the band also took in a performance of ‘Times Like These’ from local primary school children who took to the stage at Anfield before one of the shows.
The band’s 2026 European tour continues with stops in Berlin, Vienna, Mad Cool festival, and Nos Alive before a run of North American shows.
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