Dave Grohl’s announcement of a tour is almost always handled in the same way. There won’t be a slow buildup, a mysterious countdown clock, or a vague social media post with a blurry picture. The Foo Fighters are going on tour with Queens of the Stone Age. They’re calling it the “Take Cover Tour.” It’s clear, to the point, and always exciting in some way.
City of Chicago is on the list. August 8, 2026, Soldier Field. For people who have been inside that stadium on a summer nite when it’s packed with people, that detail alone is important.
Putting Queens of the Stone Age together is something to think about for a while. These are not two bands that were put together for business reasons. For decades, both bands have been making albums that really stand the test of time. It’s the kind of music that sounds good whether you’re 22 and listening to it in the car or 45 and at a concert. They both have a similar style that is both rough and sweet, which makes the double bill feel earned instead of put together.
Soldier Field is a certain kind of place for this kind of show. It’s obviously very big. Fans from Chicago remember that the venue has a history with rock music, and when a band knows how to use a space that big—and Foo Fighters do—the size stops being an issue and becomes the point. From the upper deck, where you could see the cityscape and hear the music clearly, there is a version of that August nite that really sounds memorable.
There will be two stages of ticket sales. Early access to the show starts October 28 at 10 a.m. thru Ticketmaster for people who signed up for the Foo Fighters newsletter on the date of the announcement. The general pre-sale starts the next day, October 29, at the same time. It’s important to note that the newsletter presale had a cutoff date—if you weren’t already subscribed by the time the news came out, you can’t use that earlier window. A little annoying, but that’s just how these things usually work.
It looks like August 8 will be a busy weekend in Chicago. The Bud Billiken Parade, which has been going on for 97 years and has a lot of people along its South Side route, happens that same Saturday morning. On the weekends, Northalsted Market Days is also in full swing, bringing a lot of people to Halsted Street. The city will be busy in the same way that Chicago is busy in late summer: every neighborhood has something going on at the same time, and the streets are full of a certain kind of weekend energy that’s hard to explain.
It looks like making plans ahead of time for that nite at Soldier Field is actually necessary, not just a good idea. On a busy summer Saturday, when people are going to different events, the traffic around the lakefront can make even Chicagoans who know the city well lose their cool. For most people, the CTA will be the better call.
For now, it’s still not clear what the tour’s setlist looks like or how the two bands will share stage time. But if past Foo Fighters shows are any indication, I think of the word “thorough.” They often play for a long time, play a lot of songs, and don’t leave much on the table. Queens of the Stone Age, on the other hand, don’t just coast. It seems like both acts will want to bring something to this show.
It seems like Chicago responds to that kind of work. On the right nite, you can feel that the city is really glad you came to Soldier Field. There’s a good chance that August 8 will be one of those nights.
