Josh Freese, the Foo Fighters drummer brought in to fill the vacancy left by the late Taylor Hawkins, revealed Friday, May 16, that he’d been let go from the band. Freese spent about two years with the group, much of that on the road as the Foos supported their 2023 album, But Here We Are.
Freese’s last proper show with the Foo Fighters came at the very end of the band’s 2024 “Everything or Nothing at All Tour,” which wrapped Aug. 18 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Per usual, the setlist was packed with plenty of hits from throughout the Foo Fighters’ catalog, and there were a few moments where Freese got to show off his chops.
His drumming propelled the band through the breakdown of their There Is Nothing Left to Lose track, “Breakout.” But even bigger was the furious drum solo he unleashed at the end of the Foo Fighters’ performance of their 1997 classic, “Monkey Wrench.”
While the Seattle gig was Reese’s last public concert with the Foo Fighters, he did take the stage with them one more time. Per Setlist.fm, the band played a private party for businessman and Anaheim Ducks owner, Henry Samueli, on Sept. 6 at the House of Blues in Anaheim (the party was referred to as “Henrypalooza”).
Unsurprisingly, there aren’t a ton of videos online from the gig, but one clip finds the Foo Fighters covering a bit of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” while another features a snippet of the band’s rendition of “Best of You.”
Freese actually would have played one more show with the Foo Fighters later that month at the Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but the band ended up canceling their headlining set. This decision was made not long after Dave Grohl revealed that he had fathered a child outside of his marriage.
In announcing his departure, Freese said the Foo Fighters had told him they were going “in a different direction with their drummer.” The drummer said that “No reason was given, adding: “Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band. In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry — just a bit shocked and disappointed.”
A rep for the Foo Fighters declined to comment further.
