"Congregation" is a song by American rock band

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...

. It is the third official single and the second radio single from their eighth studio album '' Sonic Highways''. It was released on October 31, 2014. The song features country music singer Zac Brown, with whom Grohl collaborated with on Zac Brown Band'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 seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

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, o ...

scene of Nashville that is known as the Nashville sound.Foo Fighters in Nashville: Zac Brown Details 'Sonic Highways' Visit
rollingstone.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Foo Fighters' bassist Nate Mendel told '' NME'' 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 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