"Congregation" is a song by American rock band

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

. It is the third official single and the second radio single from their eighth studio album ''

Sonic Highways ''Sonic Highways'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on November 10, 2014, through Roswell and RCA Records. Similar to their previous album, ''Wasting Light'' (2011), it was produced by the band with Butch ...

''. It was released on October 31, 2014. The song features country music singer

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and co-founder and lead singer of the country–rock Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown released a pop su ...

, with whom Grohl collaborated with on

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulel ...

's extended play '' The Grohl Sessions, Vol. 1''.

Recording

The song was recorded at Southern Ground Studios in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

and featured in the third episode of TV documentary '' Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways'' which documents the music history of Nashville. The third episode of ''Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways'' focuses on the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

scene of Nashville that is known as the

Nashville sound The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...

.Foo Fighters in Nashville: Zac Brown Details 'Sonic Highways' Visit
rollingstone.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Foo Fighters' bassist

Nate Mendel Nathan ‍Gregor ‍Mendel (born December 2, 1968) is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, as well as a former member of Sunny Day Real Estate. He has also worked with musical acts The Jealous So ...

told ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' that "The song 'Congregation' is a play on how a lot of the folks in the Nashville country music scene came together in church, in a sort of gospel environment, to learn their craft."Congregation by Foo Fighters
songfacts.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016. Foo Fighters' front man

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

told '' Q'' that of the collaboration with Zac Brown: "Zac Brown is an enormous country star. I met him in a store and he asked me to produce an album. I'd never heard of him. I said to someone, 'Zac Brown has asked me to produce him' - they said, 'You should do it, he's huge' So I did the record without hearing any of his songs." Grohl also explained that the lyrics: "And they're singing like a bluebird in the round," references Nashville's iconic

Bluebird Café The Bluebird Café is a 90-seat music club in Nashville, Tennessee that opened in 1982. The club features acoustic music performed by both established singer-songwriters, and cover artists. The Bluebird receives over 70,000 visitors annually. T ...

, stating that "The Bluebird I knew a little bit about, but I learned a lot," explained Grohl. "In Nashville, it seems like there are these rites of passage that you have to go through to become a star, whether you're a singer or a songwriter, and the Bluebird is really one of those. If you can get down at the Bluebird, you've got a gig."

Release and reception

Upon release, '' Billboard'' stated that "Congregation" was "the best song from ''Sonic Highways'' yet" and that "despite the (Zac) Brown/Nashville connection, "Congregation" is less country and more '70s classic rock—this is the sound of souped-up car racing down the open highway.Foo Fighters Tap Zac Brown for 'Congregation,' Best Song From 'Sonic Highways' Yet
billboard.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

Music video

The music video appeared at the end of the ''Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways'' episode "Nashville". Taking place at Southern Ground Studios, the band along with an appearance by Zac Brown, perform the song in its entirety as 2D animated lyrics appear.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year end charts

References

{{authority control 2014 singles 2014 songs Foo Fighters songs Song recordings produced by Butch Vig Songs written by Dave Grohl Songs written by Taylor Hawkins Songs written by Nate Mendel Songs written by Chris Shiflett Songs written by Pat Smear