Foo Fighters announce new drummer ahead of Boston Calling, N.H. shows

Josh Freese performs with Sublime in 2014.Paul A. Hebert

The Foo Fighters are performing in New Hampshire on Wednesday and at Boston Calling this weekend, and just in time for the shows, the band announced a new drummer to succeed the legendary Taylor Hawkins, who died suddenly last year while on tour in Colombia.

The band introduced drummer Josh Freese in livestream posted Sunday night. Freese is a veteran drummer who has played with Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring, Sting, and Weezer, among many others, according to his Instagram bio. Freese played with the Foo Fighters during a London tribute show for Hawkins in 2022. He performed on Hawkins’s drum kit for the tribute performance, and posted about the experience on social media.

He wrote on Instagram: “I said ‘Taylor’s drums need to be up there and I want to play on his exact setup. I want THAT energy to be up there on THAT stage. I want to sweat all over the same drums he was sweating all over every night...don’t change a thing.’”

Hawkins died in March 2022 at age 50 while on tour in Colombia. The band was supposed to headline the Boston Calling music festival last year, but canceled their appearance after Hawkins’s death.

In December, the band assured fans they would continue on.

“Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were — and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward,” the band wrote in a statement shared on social media. “And we know that when we see you again — and we will soon — he’ll be there in spirit with all of us every night.”

Foo Fighters perform at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford, N.H. Wednesday night, and at Boston Calling Friday night.