Dave Grohl Joins Zac Brown Band On Stage At CMA Awards

Dave Grohl has been full of surprises lately, and he unleashed his latest one at the 2013 CMA Awards.

First Grohl was revealed as one of the masked members of the secretive hard rock group Ghost, then he made a surprise appearance at the Harley-Davidson anniversary celebration in Milwaukee this August, and last night he turned up on stage at the 2013 CMA Awards with the Zac Brown Band.

Grohl, the drummer for Nirvana and frontman for the Foo Fighters, joined Brown and his band on stage for the debut of the band’s new song, “Day for the Dead.”

The performance wasn’t a shock the way the Harley Davidson performance was or Grohl’s involvement in Ghost, but no one quite knew what to expect from the CMA Awards collaboration. After all, Grohl plays every instrument under the sun, so fans didn’t quite know where he would fit in.

As the Zac Brown band was announced at the awards show, Dave Grohl settled in behind a drum set, leading the band into the song.

The performance earned good reviews, and CMT News noted the energy that Grohl brought to the stage.

“A swampy vocal breakdown reminiscent of the Doobie Brothers’ ‘Black Water’ took hold toward the end of the song while Grohl waited to retrigger the machine gun attack he had been pummeling his drums with all along. A soaring harmony concluded the tune,” the review noted.

“Sure, there were lasers and spotlights on the stage, but watching Grohl hammer away and Brown sing sweetly next to him was more than enough visual contrast to keep things interesting.”

Brown said working with Grohl had always been a dream, and this summer he hinted toward a future collaboration.

“I want to work with Dave Grohl,” Brown told reporters earlier in the year. “Dave Grohl is one of our musical heroes as a band, and he said that he would be interested in doing that, too.”

Dave Grohl has been branching out a lot musically, including his work with Ghost. The hard rock band has been building up its popularity through energetic shows and word of mouth, but its members remained hidden under cloaks and elaborate costumes. Grohl is the first member of the band to come out publicly.