Over the weekend, the Foo Fighters busted out the opening verse of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” during the favored rock ensemble’s headlining set at the Ohana Music Festival in Dana Point, Calif. The unexpected play came towards the end of the show, as David Grohl pulled out the rock epic while a concert-goer received medical attention.

Following a run-through of “Aurora,” dedicated to the group’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, Grohl halted the music due to an in-need audience member who required medical attention. Grohl asked, “Should I stop playing while you take care of that?” Addressing the festival staff from the stage, he added, “Go take care of that. I’ll play something while you do that.”

While the individual was being tended to, Grohl broke the silence with the first few notes of “Stairway,” which was met with praise from the audience. During the song’s intro, Grohl spoke directly to the festival staff with a tongue-in-cheek comment saying, “Did you figure that shit out, or do I have to play fucking ‘Stairway to Heaven’?” The Foo Fighter’s founder goaded the audience, saying, “Cause I’ll fucking play this motherfucker, you know that, right?” 

Band members followed suit as Rami Jaffee, the band’s keyboardist, added a transposed version of the iconic flute accompaniment to the opening verse. Grohl cut the song right before the chord change when the delay appeared to be settled. “Is that situation figured out?” Grohl joked. “Thank God, ’cause that’s a long-ass fucking song.”

This is not the first time Grohl has played the recognizable tune. His first public play of Zeppelin’s iconic single was in 1999, during his appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. With support from Taylor Hawkins, the duo played the song in its entirety. The Foo Fighters will continue to play shows for the remainder of 2023. The American rock band recently announced a slate of tour dates for their Everything Or Nothing At All 2024 tour. Learn more and buy tickets here.

Watch the Foo Fighters cover “Stairway to Heaven” at the Ohana Music Festival below.