Brant Webb joins Foo Fighters on stage in Launceston for an emotional performance tied to one of Australia’s most significant mining rescues.
by Paul Cashmere
Foo Fighters delivered one of the most emotionally charged performances of their career on Friday night, 24 January 2026, when the band played their only Australian show of the year in Launceston, Tasmania. The concert became far more than a tour stop when Brant Webb, one of the Beaconsfield miners trapped underground during the 2006 mine collapse, appeared on stage to introduce the song written in response to the tragedy, Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners.
The moment connected two decades of Australian history with the band’s own catalogue, grounding a stadium scale rock performance in a
deeply local story. Webb, who spent 14 days trapped 925 metres underground alongside fellow miner Todd Russell, addressed the crowd before the song, marking the rare occasion the band has performed it live with a direct link to the event that inspired it.
On 25 April 2006, a seismic event caused the collapse of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine in northern Tasmania, around 40 kilometres from Launceston. Fourteen miners managed to escape immediately. Larry Knight was killed in the collapse. Webb and Russell survived in a small steel cage buried beneath rubble and twisted infrastructure, sustaining themselves while a complex rescue operation unfolded above ground.
For two weeks, rescue teams drilled through rock and cleared debris in a race against time that captured national and international attention. Against increasingly slim odds, Webb and Russell were found alive, an outcome that remains one of Australia’s most remarkable rescue stories. Their survival became emblematic of resilience and collective effort, themes that resonated with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl when he wrote Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners the following year.
The song appeared on the 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, an album that marked a creative and commercial high point for the band. While Foo Fighters have occasionally performed the song over the years, its inclusion in the Launceston setlist, introduced by Webb himself, gave it renewed weight. The audience response was reverent, recognising the personal history embedded in the performance.
Friday night’s show also marked Foo Fighters’ third ever performance in Tasmania. The band previously played in Hobart on 11 February 1998 during their early rise, and again on 2 March 2015 as part of a full-scale Australian tour. Returning in 2026 for a single Tasmanian date, Foo Fighters chose Launceston, bringing the story full circle just kilometres from the site of the mine collapse.
Throughout the set, the band delivered a career-spanning selection that traced their evolution from the raw energy of their 1995 debut through to later era stadium anthems. Songs from One By One, Wasting Light, The Colour And The Shape and Concrete And Gold featured prominently, reflecting a catalogue that has remained central to Australian live music culture for more than 25 years.
Grohl also used the moment to confirm that the band’s relationship with Australian audiences remains ongoing. Addressing the Launceston crowd, he promised a return later in 2026, telling fans, “We’ll be back here sooner than you think and it’s before my next birthday.” The comment aligns with Foo Fighters’ long history of touring Australia, including visits in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023, alongside a promotional visit in 2002.
The Launceston show stood apart within that history. While Foo Fighters are known for high energy performances and marathon setlists, this night carried a sense of reflection, acknowledging how music can intersect with real world events and collective memory. For Tasmanian fans, the presence of Brant Webb on stage transformed a rock concert into a moment of shared remembrance.
As Foo Fighters prepare to return to Australia later in the year, the Launceston performance will stand as one of the most meaningful shows the band has ever staged on Australian soil, a reminder that even in the biggest arenas, the most powerful moments are often the most personal.
Foo Fighters Setlist
24 January 2026
Launceston, Tasmania
All My Life (from One By One, 2002)
Times Like These (from One By One, 2002)
The Pretender (from Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, 2007)
La Dee Da (from Concrete And Gold, 2007)
These Days (from Wasting Light, 2012)
Walk (from Wasting Light, 2012)
My Hero (from The Colour And The Shape, 1997)
Learn To Fly (from There Is Nothing Left To Lose, 1999)
Run (from Concrete And Gold, 2007)
This Is A Call (from Foo Fighters, 1995)
No Son Of Mine (from Medicine At Midnight, 2021)
Aurora (from There Is Nothing Left To Lose, 1999)
White Limo (from Wasting Light, 2012)
Arlandria (from Wasting Light, 2012)
Monkey Wrench (from Wasting Light, 2012)
Hey, Johnny Park! (from The Colour And The Shape, 1997)
Best Of You (from In Your Honor, 2005)
Encore:
Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners (from Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, 2007)
Exhausted (from Foo Fighters, 1995)
Everlong (from Wasting Light, 2012)
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