Foo Fighters busted out a portion of the Led Zeppelin opus “Stairway to Heaven” during a break in their headlining set at the Ohana Festival on Sunday (October 1st).
The surprise rendition took place toward the end of the set. Dave Grohl appeared to stop the show while a member of the audience apparently was receiving medical attention, and he broke the silence with the opening arpeggios of “Stairway.”
“Did you figure that shit out or do I have to play fucking ‘Stairway to Heaven’?” asked Grohl, apparently addressing festival staff while still playing the song’s intro. “‘Cause I’ll fucking play this motherfucker, you know that, right?”
The band fell in, with keyboardist Rami Jaffee adding the iconic mellotron flute accompaniment as Grohl sang the opening verse. Finally, whatever was causing the delay got sorted out, and Grohl cut the song off before the chord change.
“Is that situation figured out? Great,” Grohl said before quipping, “Thank God, ’cause that’s a long ass fucking song. It gets awkward when it speeds up and you’re making out — ‘What do I do with my girlfriend at the dance now?'” From there, the Foos closed out the set with an extended version of their own massive hit “Best of You.”
Grohl wasn’t lying about knowing how to play “Stairway to Heaven.” Grohl and Taylor Hawkins performed an acoustic cover in its entirety during an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn in 1999. It’s a similarly tongue-in-cheek rendition, but still impressive considering they make it through the whole song.
Foo Fighters will be on the road throughout the remaining months of 2023, with a slate of 2024 tour dates having also just been announced. Get tickets to the band’s upcoming gigs here.
You can watch audience footage of Foo Fighters covering “Stairway to Heaven” at Ohana Festival and revisit the 1999 acoustic cover below.
