25 Years of CleveRock and Foo Fighters

It’s 2003, I’m 18 years old, and I’m about to shoot my first concerts, Foo Fighters. My digital camera is 5 megapixels, and it’s my dad’s. I’m a freshman at Kent State, and though I’ve been to many concerts by this point (Thanks to Belkin Productions’ Concert Club and my parents!) I’ve never officially covered one on behalf of CleveRock. CleveRock, this brainchild of my best friend, Joel, and I didn’t even know what it was. Joel was the writer, and I took the photos. Everything else was just a mystery. I didn’t even know the process of what I’m about to do, but what’s the worst that could happen?

I anxiously got in line at the box office outside Tower City Amphitheater. (Side note: calling this venue an amphitheater is a disgrace to amphitheaters. It was a tent in a parking lot at best). People used to go to those to pick up their paper tickets. When it becomes my turn, I step up to the glass and give them my legal name, Tim Fenner. The person behind the glass takes my ID from me and hands it back, along with an envelope. Inside are two general admission tickets and this photo pass. Color me shocked, our scheme worked!

I’m on top of the world. THE Foo Fighters wanted put ME on THE BAND’S GUESTLIST! I walked around looking for guidance. Where do I stand? Where am I allowed to go? Does this sticker let me go anywhere I want? That was quickly put to rest when, before the band had taken the stage, I was taking photos, and a bearded, pony-tailed man in a matching gray shirt and beard asked me what the hell I was doing and how I snuck my camera into the concert. Frantically, I pointed to my pass, hoping it was the answer he was looking for. His demeanor immediately softened, and he said, “Oh, you’re good!” While it felt like I just avoided a speeding ticket, I still had questions, so I caught up to him and asked what I was allowed to do and what I wasn’t. He said the mantra that has summarized concert photography for the next 25 years. “First three songs, no flash.”

For the next 25 years, I would be INSIDE the barricade for hundreds of bands. Just me and the stage, and thousands of screaming fans behind me, wishing they were where I was. For three full songs, I had the whole band to myself. I was allowed to take as many photos as I could for three songs. As long as I didn’t use my camera’s flash, I was given a license to be teleported into this place, this pit, for photography that so few get to go! One can be the world’s biggest fan, or wait in line to buy tickets (back when that used to help), and there is no “photo pass” for sale. You have to have an outlet and give the artist a reason for their publicist to see a benefit in letting you in

Shooting concerts is my happy place. Every single time I’m in a photo pit, I can’t believe I’m allowed to be there. Not once, not one single time, have I taken it for granted. I’m standing there, in front of the front row, leaning on the stage, while Metallica, U2, Tool, BB King, Dave Matthews Band, Black Keys, FOO FIGHTERS, and hundreds more have let me into their pit to take photos. I don’t know what songs they play while I’m in there. I have one job: that’s to take the best damn photos I can before the end of that third song; a challenge I have accepted with honor.

23 years after my first time in a photo pit, I’m once again face to face with Dave Grohl & Co., this time at Huntington Bank Field. This is a full-circle moment for CleveRock and for me. CleveRock celebrated its 25th anniversayr, almost to the exact date of the concert. I have sandwiched these 25 years with one of my favorite bands. It started with Foo Fighters, and 25 years into CleveRock’s existence, I am celebrating it with the Foo Fighters. 

What felt like the hottest, most humid evening of the summer of 2026, tens of thousands of fans have filed into the Stadium. The last time the Foos were in Cleveland, it was 2021, and they were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Paul McCartney. Taylor Hawkins was still on drums, and it was an evening I’ll never forget.

Queens of the Stone Age perform just before the Foo Fighters go on. The sun was still up for their whole set. QOTSA is a band that is a perpetually beloved underground band that even had Dave Grohl on drums for a hot minute. They have an ability to win over a crowd with their harsh guitars, kick-ass drums, and haunting vocals. Frontman Josh Homme really knows how to win over any audience, even when performing at 6:00 PM on a weeknight!

I can only imagine the pressure that drummer Jon Theodore felt when forming songs like “No One Knows”and “Go with the Flow.” Both of those songs were drummed by Grohl on the 2002 album ‘Songs for the Deaf.’ For him to know that Grohl is lingering backstage every night, hearing parts he wrote- the pressure is on! The band completed their hour-long set to raucus applause as the crowd had a short reprieve before Foo Fighters came out to rock our faces off.

Foo Fighters took the stage right at 8:00, with the sun still peeking through. The humidity made the lakefront air still feel like one million degrees Fahrenheit, and the whole stadium lost at least six pounds of water weight before the night was over.

This was the first time most fans had seen new drummer Ilan Rubin with the group.

(Fun fact: Ilan was formerly with Nine Inch Nails until the Great Drummer Swap of 2025, when Josh Freese was asked to leave Foo Fighters after he replaced the late Taylor Hawkins)

Finally, it happens, Dave Grohl, dressed in classic black pants and a black long-sleeve shirt, walked out to the end of the catwalk before a single note was played and greeted the tens of thousands of fans

As the band members took their places, the palm-muted stings of Grohl’s guitar played the familiar triplets of “All My Life.” The suspense of the song builds as fans waited for the band to collectively jump in simultaneously. The audience, all standing at attention, is right there with them. They immediately followed with “The Pretender” and “Times Like These.” Over 12 albums were represented on their setlist over the course of the night. 

For such a large show, the stage was only slightly more elaborate than what someone would expect from a stadium concert. Any band performing in a stadium is going to need two giant screens winged out on the sides of the stage. Of course, the catwalk that reminds the fans that even though there’s more people that anyone can count in the stadium, they are a little bit more up close and personal to fans. (Folks in the 500 level excluded!)

The band never misses a beat. Foo Fighters has always been a band that gives 110%. Grohl is always at the forefront of being that example. Usually, fans can tell because he’s the sweatiest person up on stage. However, with the heat and humidity of the evening, bandmates and fans were dripping equally as much.

As a lifelong Clevelander, I love it when the band finds a way to make the experience personal to the Rock and Roll Capital, especially when the artist has local ties. It’s like pulling teeth for The Black Keys to mention that performing in Northeast Ohio is a homecoming. Grohl was born in Warren, Ohio. It was partly through the first half that he walked out to the end of the catwalk to perform acoustically. It was here that Dave shared a personal story before performing the song “Wheels.” He noted that since being born here in the Buckeye State, he’s always felt a special connection to the area. He said that the area shaped Foo Fighters with the work ethic of the people from the region. Most importantly, his family is from here. He told us he visited his grandparents’ graves the day before the show and how meaningful it was to him.

The rest of the concert was a solid mix of older songs and newer songs. The whole band at one point joined Grohl on the catwalk ‘B Stage’ for their cover of “Marigold” and “Big Me.”

They returned to the main stage. It was now that Dave introduced each member of the band, where Grohl made the obligatory band member introductions. each member. It started by introducing guitarist Chris Shiflett, and his former band, No Use for a Name and they played part of the song “Invincible.” Fan favorite Nate Mendel was next, and the song “Seven” was from his former band, Sunny Day Real Estate. Rami Jaffee was in The Wallflowers, inspiring a cover of the band’s 1996 #1 hit,“One Headlight.” Pat Smear was famously a member of The Germs, and they covered a sippet of “Manimal.”With Ilan Rubin saved for last, I was hoping for a Nine Inch Nails cover. Instead,, the drummer had a different idea. He swapped instruments with Grohol for Rubin’s song, “Tap Dancing in a Minefield.” This was absolutely amazing to witness. Rubin proved to be a phenomenal guitarist. Oh, and Grohl behind the drum kit? YES, PLEASE!

The night wrapped up with a far more notable moment. The song “Aurora,” was played and dedicated to the late, great Taylor Hawkins. The encore song, “The Teacher,” was dedicated to Dave’s mother, Virginia, and the state of Ohio. To wrap up the whole evening, “Everlong” closed out their 25-song, three-hour set. Fireworks accentuated the show’s conclusion! This performance was nothing short of a lifelong memorable experience.

This night was very special to me. This is the cherry on top of the last 25 years that CleveRock has existed. I vividly recall 18-year-old me walking into front of the barricade for the first time, holding my dad’s Canon point-and-shoot PowerShot S50; my leg literally shaking because I’d never been so close to someone whom I looked up to! That night in 2003 set me off on a journey that has, unexaggerated, altered my life. To cap off this anniversary with yet another Foo Fighters concert is totally fitting.

CleveRock has come a long way, and that comes with a wonderful group of people who contribute. It wouldn’t be anything if not for the crazy mind of Joel Voorman. This adventure always comes with a huge ‘thank you’ to him. He works his tirelessly to get a ‘yes’ from band representatives so that the magical experences can continue.

While I have grown as a photographer, my passion, fueled by countless nights in the photo pit, has opened doors for teaching photography to CTE students for the last 17 years. I’ve founded have photography and video studio nonprofit, Shape Cleveland that CleveRock now operates under. This anniversary is so meaningful. I hope anyone who has gone with us on this ride feels the same. Thank you, Joel! Thank you, parents (who let me go to shows since I was 10 years old), and, thank you, Cleveland!