Foo Fighters Moved Werchter

The act that caused Rock Werchter chief Herman Schueremans to move his festival forward by one week was Foo Fighters.

Photo: Owen Sweeney / Invision / AP

Firefly Music Festival, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.

The Belgian fest has been staged on the first weekend of July since it started in 1976, but this year Schueremans moved it to accommodate the band’s touring plans.

“It’s the most wanted band over here,” Schueremans explained, referring to the festival’s practice of polling fans to find out who they most want to see.

This year, Foo Fighters was top of the list. It’s the third time the act has played Rock Werchter, the last time being in 2005. To accommodate the Dave Grohl-fronted band, Schueremans had little choice but to move the event.

Foo Fighters need to be out of Europe by the end of June to ready for an already-scheduled show in Washington, D.C., July 4.

The 88,000-capacity Rock Werchter, the largest paid festival on mainland Europe, has been shortlisted for Pollstar’s International Music Festival of the Year award.

Schueremans has been shortlisted in the International Promoter of the Year category. The lineup for this year’s Rock Werchter included Metallica, The Black Keys, Ellie Goulding, and Skrillex.