Foo Fighters Close Out Epic Pilgrimage Festival 2019 | Photos

This year’s Pilgrimage got the festival back on its feet after a tumultous 2018, thanks to a stacked lineup. Foo Fighters, The Killers and Keith Urban were just a couple of highlights.

It was a scorching hot weekend in Nashville but the festival music was even hotter than the temperatures. On the gorgeous Harlinsdale Farm, artists from all genres took the various stages at Pilgrimage.

One mid-day Friday highlight included a performance by Morgan Myles that we felt deep down in our souls. If you’ve never seen this country-soul singer live, check out her tour dates and head to one of her shows ASAP. Her powerful voice will blow you away.

Jackson Bruck & the Dukes of Hume, Butch Walker, Phosphorescent and Lauren Daigle were among the other standouts on a busy Saturday in Franklin. In the hottest part of the afternoon, Leon Bridges took us to church and Keith Urban cranked things up a notch. That was all before The Killers closed out the day as the sunset on the farm.

The crowd danced and sang along to the band’s big hits including “Smile Like You Mean It,” “Human” and, of course, “Mr. Brightside.” Brandon Flowers proved he’s a true frontman during the Las Vegas-style set with a rock edge. He donned a fancy blue suit for his performance, looking snazzy despite the heat. “If this was our first rodeo, this is exactly what I would wear.”

Sunday was another jam-packed day of music with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats getting the crowd grooving and +LIVE+ helping fans reminisce over their 25 years of Throwing Copper. Wynonna & The Big Noise also performed, even debuting new music from their upcoming studio album.

Better Than Ezra (fronted by the festival’s co-founder, Kevin Griffin) also played to a large crowd on Sunday afternoon. They played fan favorites “King of New Orleans,” “Good” and “Juicy” and Griffin graciously thanked the audience for keeping his festival alive. “Thank you so much for sticking with us and believing in the festival.” 

Lukas Nelson & the Promise of Real and Shooter Jennings were among some of the other Sunday standouts. A few minutes after 6 PM, Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters ended the festival on a huge note. “I came here to play rock and roll music,” Grohl yelled at the crowd who hung on his every word. The audience headbanged and pumped their fists through the two-hour set which included “Everlong,” “The Pretender,” “Learn to Fly” and “My Hero.”

He summed his band’s set up in one sentence saying, “I got the noisy s***.”

Although the music was a huge part of the festival, Pilgrimage was also able to support their mission of giving back to the community that supports the festival. The Pilgrimage Foundation, the non-profit portion of Pilgrimage, raises money through ticket sales, donors and more. Those funds benefit the parks, Harlinsdale Farm, education, musicians and the artists. This year, they added festival presence for four area non-profits: Graceworks, Brightstone, High Hopes Development and Mercy Community Healthcare.

Check out highlights from the festival in the gallery below.