Sonic Highways Documentary

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Lore & Background

After the success of Grohl's 2013 documentary film Sound City, he expressed interest to Billboard in doing something similar. Grohl said, "After making Sound City, I realized that the pairing of music and documentary works well because the stories give substance and depth to the song, which makes for a stronger emotional connection. So I thought, 'I want to do this again, but instead of just walking into a studio and telling its story, I want to travel across America and tell its story.'" On May 15, 2014, it was announced that the Foo Fighters' eighth album would be released in fall 2014, and that the band would commemorate the album and their 20th anniversary with the TV series. Each song on the new album was recorded in a different city, featuring "local legends" on each song and lyrics inspired by the "experiences, interviews and personalities that became part of the process." On May 31, 2014, a 20-second video was uploaded to YouTube announcing the series. On August 21, 2014, a 3-minute-31-second trailer was uploaded showing most of the people interviewed.

In Their Own Story

The series' eight episodes show the Foo Fighters traveling to eight legendary studios in eight cities across the United States to write and record their album, Sonic Highways. The cities visited were Chicago, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Austin, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle, and New York. Studios involved include Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago; Rancho De La Luna in California; Robert Lang Studios in Seattle; Inner Ear Studios in Arlington County, Virginia; and the Magic Shop in New York City. Each episode features interviews with artists who recorded at the respective studios, including Dolly Parton, Daniel Lanois, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Joe Walsh of Eagles, Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, Nancy Wilson of Heart, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Zac Brown, and Gary Clark, Jr. There was also collaboration with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans, which led to a live performance with Trombone Shorty. The episodes begin with a quote from a song recorded in their respective location and end with a music video for that same song with animated lyrics appearing in the background.

Reader's Guide

The series aired in the UK on BBC Four starting October 26, 2014. It also aired in Australia on GO! hours after its US broadcast, and was repeated on Channel [V] from February 16, 2015. Surprise concerts accompanied the recording: on May 5, 2014, Foo Fighters gave a surprise two-hour concert at 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. On May 7, 2014, Grohl performed a surprise hour-long solo set at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville to a crowd of approximately 100 people. On May 17, 2014, after a week of recording at Preservation Hall, the band played a surprise 90-minute show that shut down an entire block of St. Peter Street in New Orleans.

Did You Know?

• The series was directed by Dave Grohl and written by Mark Monroe.
• Each of the eight episodes begins with a quote from a song recorded in that location and ends with a music video featuring animated lyrics.
• Grohl performed a surprise hour-long solo set at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville to a crowd of approximately 100 people on May 7, 2014.
• The band's surprise 90-minute show in New Orleans shut down an entire block of St. Peter Street on May 17, 2014.
• The series aired in Australia on GO! hours after its US broadcast.