Foo Fighters have kickstarted their 25th anniversary celebrations by announcing The Van Tour.
The band will play shows in the US and Canada over the coming months, revisiting stops they made on their 1995 tour.
A statement reads: “Congratulations… you’re old! You’ve been going to see Foo Fighters shows for 25 years now! What better way to celebrate than joining the band in commemorating its silver anniversary in some of the same cities where the first Foo Fighters shows took place in 1995?
“Beginning April 12 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, the Foo Fighters’ 2020 Van Tour will do just that, hitting a number of the same spots that Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel and Pat Smear trail-blazed in a Dodge van all those years ago – in arenas this time, because aside from many of those clubs on that 1995 trek having since ceased to exist, squeezing a 2020 Foo Fighters show into the few that are still around would just be too insane… or would it?
“Stay tuned for the answer to that question. Or answers…”
Tickets will go on general sale this coming Friday (February 21) from 10am local time.
News of the tour comes just days after Grohl revealed he’s working on a documentary titled What Drives Us about vans and van touring – and fans attending the tour will be able to get a sneak peek at an excerpt from the film.
Grohl told The Bill Simmonds Podcast: The movie is not so much about really awesome van tour anecdotes, it's more about the drive to do it.
“Why would anyone give up everything, quit their job, leave home and everything behind, just to chase this dream with no guarantee you're ever going to make it? And you starve, you bleed, you're sick, you're pissed, you get taken to jail and get in fights, but you always make it to the next gig.
“You’d be surprised – everybody has the same story, and it is absolutely a key to success. If you’re just kind of doing it, it’s just not going to work out. But if you have that thing where, ‘I can’t survive unless I do this,’ that’s what you have to do.”
He added: “It’s pretty great to hear your heroes go back to those years and talk about, ‘There’s nothing more in life that I want to do,’ and then to see their dreams come true.”
What Drives Us will feature interviews with members of “van tour veteran bands” including Metallica, Black Flag, the Beatles and Dead Kennedys.
Foo Fighters The Van Tour 2020 North American dates
Apr 12: Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Arena, AZ
Apr 14: Albuquerque Santa Ana Star Center, NM
Apr 16: Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena, OK
Apr 18: Wichita INTRUST Bank Arena, KS
Apr 20: Knoxville Thompson-Boiling Arena, TN
May 10: Green Bay Resch Center, WI
May 12: Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena, MI
May 14: Cincinnati Heritage Bank Center, OH
May 18: Cleveland Rocket Mortgage Arena, OH
May 20: Hamilton FirstOntario Centre, ON
Foo Fighters 2020 European tour dates
Jun 10: Berlin Waldbuhne, Germany
Jun 12: Nickelsdorf Nova Rock Festival, Austria
Jun 14: MilanI-Days, Italy
Jun 14-17: Festival de Nimes, France
Jun 19: Lisbon Rock In Rio Lisboa, Portugal
