NEWS
(L-R) Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear and Taylor Hawkins pose onstage as The Foo Fighters reopen Madison Square Garden on June 20, 2021 in New York City.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for FFIt’s here! It happened! After 15 months (and a week or so) of near total darkness for most indoor American concert venues, the lights are back on. Last weekend, the Foo Fighters sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden at full capacity, indoors, in person.
The band sold 15,371 tickets, grossing over $1.4 million on their June 20 comeback performance, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. “Full capacity” can deceptively vary from arena to arena and from show to show, but there is no debating the Foo Fighters’ status. Across 662 shows reported since 2015, MSG’s average cap is 15,140, a couple hundred seats less than Saturday’s show.
While it may feel shocking to have full-fledged arena shows back in action, it is no surprise that Dave Grohl & co. posted such strong numbers. Dating back to 1995, the Foo Fighters have grossed a reported $209.7 million and sold 3.38 million tickets across 300 (exactly) headline shows.
Sunday's return marked the band’s fourth trip to the Garden, and their 10th report of a New York show throughout their career. (Billboard Boxscore may only have reports for a portion of the act’s tour history.)
They started out in relatively humble fashion with an Aug. 13, 1995 performance at The Academy, playing to a sold-out crowd of 1,600 fans who each spent somewhere between $10 and $12.50 for a ticket. The Academy led to Roseland Ballroom, Hammerstein Ballroom and the Beacon Theatre before the Foos took on MSG for the first time in 2008.
The Foo Fighters hit a career high with a double-header in 2018, grossing $2.7 million from 31,000 tickets sold. But on a per-show basis, the June 20, 2021 concert edges it out as the band’s biggest NYC show yet.
The last report from Madison Square Garden was a sold-out show for The Brothers on March 10, 2020. The next scheduled act at the venue is the Eagles on Aug. 22 and 24, followed by Banda MS and Dan + Shay in September.
The Foo Fighters will hit the road again with six shows from July 28 - Aug. 9. They, and many others, are just getting started.
NEWS
Lola Young has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to release a new T shirt for the charity’s Lifelines collection.
The shirt supports CALM’s suicide prevention work, with proceeds helping to fund vital resources such as its helpline and CALMzone mental health app.
CALM introduced the Lifelines range last year, with Fontaines D.C., Blossoms and Inhaler also contributing their own designs to the collection.
Young’s design includes the words, “There’s a flicker of light. There’s always morning after the night”, taken from her track ‘Flicker Of Light’.
“I wrote this song about realising there is hope. I have often felt like there isn’t, but there is always a reason to keep going,” Young said. “That’s even when you don’t want to get out of bed, you do, and that is amazing, and you’re still here, and you’re still alive, and if anything, that’s something to be proud of.”
CALM CEO Simon Gunning also shared his appreciation for the collaboration, saying: “We couldn’t be more grateful to Lola for supporting ‘Lifelines’ and showing just how powerful music can be as a force for good.”
Priced at £30, the T shirts come in both standard and boxy fits and are available to purchase here.
Young has regularly spoken about her experiences with mental health. She returned to performing earlier this year after calling off her 2025 tour because of exhaustion. The decision followed her collapse during a performance in New York City. During her time away, she later discussed receiving support for addiction and attending AA meetings as part of her recovery.
In an interview with NME in May, Young explained that she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, although she is now “definitely in a much better place”. She also said she feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music”.
Reflecting on the encouragement she received after publicly discussing those challenges, Young said: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.”
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Several musicians have also applauded the ‘Messy’ singer for honestly addressing the pressure placed on touring performers. Lily Allen said she was “in awe” of the BRIT and Grammy winner, while Victoria Canal credited Young with bringing greater attention to the damaging impact demanding tour schedules can have on artists’ mental wellbeing.
When NME asked whether musicians were beginning to establish firmer boundaries around their health, Young replied: “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way.”
