Foo Fighters Axe Josh Freese After Two Years Filling Taylor Hawkins’s Shoes
Brace yourselves, rock fans—Foo Fighters just dumped Josh Freese two years after he tackled the nearly impossible job of replacing Taylor Hawkins behind the kit. In July 2022, the band tapped the seasoned session ace to keep their stadium-sized heart beating following Hawkins’s tragic death in March of that year (Rolling Stone; People). Fast-forward to April 2024: an official post on FooFighters.com coldly announced that Freese won’t be joining the summer tour or any upcoming studio sessions. No juicy back-stage drama revealed—just a standard “we wish him well” send-off that screams corporate spin.
Let’s break this down with brutal honesty. Hawkins was more than a drummer; he was the band’s emotional core. When he passed away in Bogotá at age 50, fans braced for an identity crisis. Enter Freese: a dependable pro known for stops with Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle and Devo. He never recorded on Foo Fighters albums—Grohl handled the studio drums on their 2023 release, But Here We Are—and Freese’s role was purely live support. Yet he managed to soldier through arena shows in Europe, Australia and North America, delivering precise beats without becoming a household name. That’s no small feat when you’re literally echoing the rhythms of a late legend.
So why the split? The statement skirts specifics: no creative differences or hand-wringing about “finding the right fit.” Industry insiders gossip about Foos seeking a more permanent “brand identity” drummer who can double as a social-media figure, maybe someone younger or with a flashier résumé. Speculation is rife—names like Gregg Bissonette and The Parkinsons’ Jamie Morrison popped up on fan forums (NME). But until Dave Grohl or Pat Smear gets off their tour bus to spill real tea, we’ll continue to endure these “we’re moving in a new direction” press releases.
What’s next for Freese? He’ll likely dive back into session work or headline some prog-rock side project—he’s in demand, after all. And Foo Fighters? They’re slated to kick off a string of festival dates in June and have hinted at a surprise album announcement for fall. Will they unveil a fresh face behind the drums, or stick with rotating pros? Either way, old-school fans will be watching setlists closely, hoping the band’s thunderous pulse doesn’t dip without Hawkins or Freese in the seats.
And there you have it—another corporate-speak farewell in rock’s revolving lineup carousel. Stay tuned, because the next cymbal crash could come from anywhere. So there you have it—another disaster in the making.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Rolling Stone, NME
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
