Foo Fighters to Become First International Act to Perform In Australia Since March of 2020

The Foo Fighters. Photo Credit: Raph_PH

The Foo Fighters are officially set to become the first international act to perform a full-capacity stadium show in Australia since March of 2020.

Frontier Touring just recently announced the six-piece group’s Australia concert, which is scheduled to take place at Geelong, Victoria’s GMHBA Stadium (also known as Kardinia Park) next Friday, March 4th. In addition to marking the first “full-capacity stadium show by any international music artist” in Australia since the pandemic’s start, as mentioned, the “exclusive, one-off concert” will represent the Foo Fighters’ first gig down under since 2018, according to Frontier.

GMHBA Stadium’s doors will open at four o’clock local time on March 4th, organizers also disclosed, with Melbourne’s the Meanies expected to take the stage at six o’clock, followed by Rough Trade-signed Amyl and the Sniffers at 7 PM and the Foo Fighters themselves at 8:30 PM.

Tickets, for their part, will go on sale this Friday, and each general-admission pass will set fans back a noteworthy $115 or so. The latter reflects the USD-AUD exchange rate at the time of publishing and assumes that the cost displayed on Frontier’s listing for the event, $159.90, is in AUD.

Regarding COVID-19 restrictions, the Foo Fighters’ concert description emphasizes that GMHBA Stadium is “a COVIDSafe venue.” A page on the website of the venue elaborates that there will be “COVIDSafe marshals in attendance at all major events.” Additionally, “patrons 18+ must provide proof of vaccination (or exemption) to enter the venue,” per the same resource.

Despite these stringent COVID-19 vaccine requirements – Coachella and Stagecoach recently did away with all such restrictions – the Foo Fighters’ quick-approaching Australia show appears indicative of live entertainment’s broader comeback.

More than a few artists are hitting the road – the Foo Fighters, to be sure, did so last year and have a number of other gigs booked for 2022 – following the unprecedented financial damage inflicted upon venues and artists by draconian COVID-19 rules. Needless to say, it will take some time yet for the crowd-based performance sphere to return to form, but an international group’s playing in Australia looks to be another step in the right direction.

In terms of recent tour and festival announcements, Milwaukee’s Summerfest yesterday revealed 2022 headliners including Rod Stewart and Cheap Trick (who are touring together), Halsey, and Jason Aldean. Sum 41 and Simple Plan this week unveiled a joint tour, scheduled to begin in April and run into August, and BTS, ahead of a deadline to begin mandatory military service, has organized a series of “Permission to Dance On Stage – Las Vegas” shows for April.