Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways
Sonic Highways is a 2014 American documentary miniseries directed by Dave Grohl and written by Mark Monroe. The documentary was made concurrently with Foo Fighters' eighth album, Sonic Highways,[1] and was broadcast on HBO. Grohl described the project as "a love letter to the history of American music".[2] Each of the eight episodes is presented as an exploration of the musical history of a different American city through a series of interviews by Grohl. The group is also shown incorporating what they learned from the interviews into the writing and recording of a new song in or near that city. The series debuted on October 17, 2014.[3]
This article is about the television miniseries. For the album, see Sonic Highways.Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways
Mark Monroe
Dave Grohl
Bryan Lee Brown
United States
English
8
- James A. Rota
- John Ramsay
- Dave Grohl
- John Silva
- Gaby Skolnek
- John Cutcliffe
- Kristen Welsh
- Kenny Stoff
- Jessica Young
- Meg Ramsay
- Kristin McCasey
- Scott D. Hanson
- Grant MacDowell
- Brian Lazarte
- Lenny Mesina
60 minutes
- Roswell Films
- Therapy Content
- Diamond Docs
- Worldwide Pants Incorporated
October 17 –
December 5, 2014
Overview[edit]
The series eight episodes show the Foo Fighters traveling to eight legendary studios in eight different cities across the United States of America to write and record their album, Sonic Highways.[9] The cities visited were Chicago, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Austin, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle and New York.[2] Studios involved with the project include Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago; Rancho De La Luna in California; Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, and Arlington County, Virginia's Inner Ear Studios.[10]
Each episode features interviews with artists who recorded at the respective studios. Among them are Dolly Parton, Daniel Lanois, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Joe Walsh of Eagles, Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, Nancy Wilson of Heart, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Zac Brown,[11] and Gary Clark, Jr.[4] There was also collaboration with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans, which led to a live performance with Trombone Shorty.[11] The episodes begin with a quote from a song that was recorded in their respective location and ends with a music video for that same song with animated lyrics appearing in the background.
Surprise concerts[edit]
On May 5, 2014, Foo Fighters gave a surprise two-hour concert at 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.[12][13]
On May 7, 2014, Grohl performed a surprise hour-long solo set at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville to a crowd of approximately 100 people.[13]
On May 17, 2014, after a week of recording at Preservation Hall, the band played a surprise show for 90-minutes, which proceeded to shut down an entire block of St. Peter Street in New Orleans.[14]