Decades of filling stadiums can make an artist look completely unshakeable, but certain heroes will always cut through that armor. For Dave Grohl, sharing a platform with AC/DC at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey proved to be too overwhelming to brush off. Moments after stepping away from the amplifiers and out of public view, the Foo Fighters frontman found himself in tears.
The appearance arrived on the final night of the Power Up tour, an outing spanning two years that started in Germany in May 2024 to support the band's 2020 album. Grohl and his bandmates had initially joined the itinerary as a short notice replacement for The Pretty Reckless on September 8 in St. Louis. Grohl described that initial support slot as a dream come true, and while it was originally billed as an isolated date, the Australian group asked Foo Fighters to return for their tour finale. Severe weather had forced that MetLife Stadium show to move back from its initial September 25 date, giving both bands one more evening together.
When AC/DC reached their headline set, singer Brian Johnson addressed the audience and explained that Grohl had approached them about guesting on Highway To Hell, their 1979 standard. Grohl walked out with an electric guitar, adding both playing and backing vocals to the track. Speaking later to the New Zealand radio station The Rock, Grohl explained that the emotional weight of what had just happened caught up with him immediately afterward. His wife had been standing at the side of the stage watching the performance, and as soon as he cleared the spotlight, he began sobbing like a baby. He described the moment as a total release of emotion, pointing to it as one of the most meaningful full circle milestones of his life.
Aside from the sentimentality, the sheer volume left a lasting mark. Grohl pointed out that it was the loudest stage he had ever stood on, adding that AC/DC felt like the loudest group on the planet. That brute force tied directly back to his earliest memories of the band. As a boy, Grohl watched the concert film Let There Be Rock, an experience that dismantled everything he thought he understood about live performance. Prior to that, his reference points for rock were the theatrics of KISS and the songwriting of The Beatles. Seeing musicians work with such ferocity that they were soaked in sweat and relying on an oxygen tank showed him the exact kind of artist he wanted to become.
Though the two groups had never mounted a shared tour before these autumn concerts, their paths have crossed over the years. Paul McCartney made the initial introduction between Grohl and the members of AC/DC. When founding guitarist Malcolm Young died in 2017, Grohl offered a tribute thanking him for the catalog, the rhythmic feel, and the countless hours spent losing control to the music. Foo Fighters extended that warmth four years later, bringing Johnson onstage during the 2021 VAX LIVE charity concert, an event organized to raise money for global vaccination programs.
The New Jersey stop officially concluded the Power Up run. AC/DC have not laid out their upcoming plans, though Johnson kept possibilities open by telling the crowd before his departure that the band hoped to see them again. Foo Fighters remain deep in their own work, having delivered their twelfth record, Your Favorite Toy, earlier in the year. That release led straight into their North American Take Cover tour alongside Queens Of The Stone Age, a run that also featured a pair of massive June appearances at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool. Grohl has never stopped being one of the most visible performers in rock, but stepping up to play with the musicians who rewired his childhood brain was something he could not simply take in stride.
