The Foo Fighters have confirmed that they will reschedule their highly anticipated appearance alongside rock legends AC/DC, turning what was originally framed as a one-night-only stadium collaboration into a realized event. The joint performance is officially slated for Friday, October 2, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This updated itinerary follows the abrupt cancellation of the initial concert date, which was originally scheduled for Sunday, September 25. That weekend, a potent nor’easter battered the northeastern United States, bringing torrential downpours, high-velocity winds, and widespread localized flooding that forced concert organizers and local authorities to scrub numerous high-profile outdoor entertainment events across the tri-state area.
Ticket holders who purchased admissions for the originally scheduled performance under AC/DC’s extensive PWR Up tour will find their tickets honored for the rescheduled Friday date. The announcement arrived via social media, with the Foo Fighters expressing their enthusiasm through an official Instagram post that declared, "Let there be rock. See you October 2nd with @acdc!!!" Reaction from the fan community was immediate and overwhelmingly positive, with ticket holders celebrating the preservation of a lineup that pairs two generations of stadium-filling rock royalty.
Background Context and Chronological Development
The upcoming East Rutherford concert marks the second time within a month that the Foo Fighters have stepped onto the bill with AC/DC, continuing a collaborative streak that began earlier in September. On September 8, the Foo Fighters surprised the rock music world by filling in as the opening act for AC/DC at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
That initial pairing materialized under unusual circumstances. The tour’s booked opening act, The Pretty Reckless, fronted by Taylor Momsen, was forced to step aside for the St. Louis date due to scheduling conflicts. Momsen was required in Seattle on September 9 to participate in a high-profile halftime performance during the Seattle Seahawks’ home opener, where she joined surviving members of the legendary grunge band Soundgarden for a special musical tribute.
Recognizing the sudden vacancy, the Foo Fighters stepped in to support the Australian rock pioneers. For Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, the St. Louis concert was deeply personal. Long before he drummed for Nirvana or fronted his own multi-platinum rock outfit, a young Grohl was profoundly shaped by AC/DC’s seminal 1980 concert documentary, Let There Be Rock.
In a reflective statement shared via social media prior to the St. Louis show, Grohl detailed his lifelong fandom, recalling how he and his best friend, Larry Hinkle, visited the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., at the age of eleven to witness AC/DC’s raw, high-voltage performance style firsthand. Grohl credited that specific theatrical and sonic experience with cementing his lifelong commitment to live performance, noting that the legendary group bore single-handed responsibility for his determination to give audiences everything he has at every single show. Forty-five years after that initial theatrical screening, sharing a physical stage with the band represented the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition.
The Regional Impact of Severe Weather
The postponement of the September 25 AC/DC and Foo Fighters concert at MetLife Stadium was part of a larger wave of entertainment disruptions caused by the severe meteorological event that swept across the Eastern Seaboard. The late-September nor’easter caused severe logistical challenges, threatening public safety and making large-scale outdoor gatherings untenable.
The storm’s footprint extended well beyond East Rutherford, resulting in the cancellation or postponement of several major music festivals and high-profile stadium tours:
- In New York City, organizers were forced to cancel the Global Citizen Festival, the CBGB Festival, and the All Things Go NY festival due to severe weather warnings.
- In Ocean City, Maryland, all three scheduled days of the Oceans Calling Festival were scrapped to protect attendees and crew members from hazardous coastal conditions.
- Further north in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Ed Sheeran was forced to call off two consecutive stadium concerts scheduled at Gillette Stadium as safety precautions took precedence.
The ability to reschedule the MetLife Stadium concert for October 2 provides a measure of relief for promoters, venue operators, and fans who experienced the disappointment of sudden weather-related cancellations. Because major stadium availability is notoriously rigid—dictated by professional sports schedules, NFL and collegiate football fixtures, and competing concert tours—securing a makeup date within a week of the original booking represents a logistical achievement for tour management and venue staff alike.
Broader Implications and Logistics for Supporting Acts
While the Foo Fighters have successfully cleared their calendar to ensure they can join AC/DC at MetLife Stadium on Friday, the rescheduling has created minor logistical ripples regarding other festival appearances. The Pretty Reckless, who were originally displaced from the St. Louis date, have maintained a busy autumn touring schedule. The group is booked to perform at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California, on Thursday, October 1. Following that performance, the band is scheduled to appear at Tom Morello’s Power to the People Festival, taking place on Saturday, October 3, at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
The Power to the People Festival itself boasts an expansive lineup that bridges multiple genres and generations, featuring sets from the Foo Fighters, singer-songwriter Dave Matthews, rock icon Bruce Springsteen, hip-hop pioneers Public Enemy, and festival organizer Tom Morello. The proximity of the New Jersey AC/DC concert on Friday night to the Maryland festival on Saturday afternoon highlights the intense, compressed touring schedules artists navigate during the peak autumn concert season.
Economic and Cultural Significance of the Pairing
The pairing of AC/DC and the Foo Fighters carries considerable economic weight within the live music industry. Both acts represent rare commodities in modern music: sustainable, arena-and-stadium-level rock bands capable of moving tens of thousands of tickets purely on the strength of their catalog and live performance reputation.
For the live entertainment sector, which continues to absorb the financial shocks of unpredictable weather patterns and climate-related disruptions, the successful rescheduling of postponed mega-concerts is vital. Rain-outs and wind cancellations can result in millions of dollars in refunded ticket sales, lost merchandise revenue, and wasted logistical expenditures for staging, lighting, and hospitality. By salvaging the MetLife Stadium date, promoters have mitigated potential financial losses while preserving a significant cultural moment for rock enthusiasts.
As Friday evening approaches, anticipation surrounding the East Rutherford event remains high. For the thousands of fans who retained their tickets through the storm delay, the concert offers not only the resolution of a postponed evening but also a rare convergence of two foundational forces in modern rock history sharing the same stage.
