The Foo Fighters have been fairly busy this fall, beginning the month of October by taking over The Late Show with David Letterman for a week. Now, however, the focus has shifted to the alternative rock band’s own television show, named after their upcoming album, Sonic Highways. The HBO series was created to commemorate the Foo Fighter’s 20th year of making music, and follows frontman Dave Grohl and the band across the country. Viewers can tune in and follow their trip to the eight cities in which they recorded the album. The highlight of last night’s episode was the debut of a new song entitled, “Congregation.”
The song was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with the help of country rock musician Zac Brown, who provided backup vocals and accompanying guitar. This is not the band’s first time working with Brown, who appeared on Letterman with them to perform Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” The band recorded the new song at Brown’s studio, Southern Ground, and although “Congregation” was written prior to their session with the Nashville-based artist, they left a portion of the song open for his input. Brown’s studio was originally a church long before it was acquired by Monument Records. Prior to Brown’s purchase of the music space in 2011, the likes of Kris Kristofferson and Neil Young had recorded albums there.
The latest episode of Sonic Highways also featured interviews with artists like Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, Carrie Underwood, and Emmylou Harris. Country singer and Tennessee native, Dolly Parton, shared the story of Elvis Presley’s attempt to cover her song “I Will Always Love You” later in the episode. Last night’s installment also outlined Grohl’s appreciation of Nashville’s contributions to rock, and he acknowledged its reputation as the home of country music. He makes note of some of his favorite musicians with ties to the region, such as Tony Joe White.
Sonic Highways’ first two installments featured the making of the songs “Something From Nothing” and “The Feast And The Famine,” recorded in Chicago and Washington D.C., respectively. The album is set to be released next week, on November 10. And while it may seem like he’s jumping ahead, Grohl recently stated, “Wait until you see what we’re doing for the next record,” before going on to explain that it makes the project for Sonic Highways look like “kindergarten.”