Foo Fighters made transatlantic history on Saturday night, becoming the first American musical act to serve as the musical guest on SNL UK. The London-filmed show's fifth episode saw Dave Grohl and company live-debut two tracks from their new album Your Favorite Toy — "Caught in the Echo" and "Child Actor" — just one day after the record's release.
The appearance was more than a quick two-and-done. Grohl popped up during host Nicola Coughlan's opening monologue alongside surprise guest Jimmy Fallon, and landed a cameo in one of the evening's sketches. It's the kind of all-in commitment that's become Grohl's brand over three decades of relentless charm offensives — though whether the charm still lands the same way after 2024's tabloid revelations is a question Your Favorite Toy seems determined to sidestep entirely.
The SNL UK slot is a significant booking for the show's still-young run. Previous musical guests have been exclusively British acts — Wet Leg, Kasabian, Wolf Alice, and Jorja Smith — with Meek already announced for next week. Landing the Foo Fighters as the first American crossover signals the show's ambitions beyond the UK market, and gives the band a high-profile platform for what's shaping up to be a massive touring year.
Your Favorite Toy, which dropped Friday, is the Foo Fighters' first album with new drummer Ilan Rubin, formerly of Nine Inch Nails and Angels & Airwaves. The record has drawn mixed-to-positive reviews across the board — Pitchfork noted the album's more aggressive, confrontational energy compared to the grief-processing of 2023's But Here We Are, while NME called it a return to "brawny basics." The title track has Grohl sneering "someone threw away your favorite toy for good" over a boogie-rock riff that sounds like ZZ Top filtered through post-hardcore, with his daughter Harper contributing taunting backing vocals.
The live debut of "Caught in the Echo" and "Child Actor" is worth paying attention to. "Child Actor" in particular has drawn early buzz as one of the album's sharpest tracks, its title carrying a double meaning that reviewers have been careful to unpack. These are songs that hit differently in a live setting, stripped of studio sheen and placed in front of a room that's judging in real time.
The band kicks off their proper tour at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 28, followed by festival stops at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach and BottleRock in Napa. A European run fills June and July before the North American stadium tour launches August 4 in Toronto, wrapping September 26 in Las Vegas with a Bourbon & Beyond headlining stop in Louisville along the way.
Whether Your Favorite Toy has the staying power of the band's best work remains to be seen — but between the SNL UK coup and a world tour that runs through September, the Foo Fighters clearly aren't interested in taking a quiet lap. They never are.