Dave Grohl Details the Sign He Got to Keep Making Music After Death of Kurt Cobain: 'All I Wanted to Do Was Disappear'
Dave Grohl Details the Sign He Got to Keep Making Music After Death of Kurt Cobain: 'All I Wanted to Do Was Disappear'
Daniela AvilaTue, May 5, 2026 at 9:50 PM UTC
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Dave Grohl reflected on the emotional toll of losing Kurt Cobain during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
A chance encounter with a hitchhiker wearing a Kurt Cobain T-shirt inspired Grohl to move forward and create again
"I thought, this is the universe telling me, 'You have to continue,'" he said
Dave Grohl needed a sign after losing his dear friend and bandmate Kurt Cobain — and he got it.
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, May 4, the Foo Fighters frontman was asked when he knew he was ready to start a new band after Nirvana ended in 1994.
"When Nirvana ended, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't know if I wanted to continue playing music. It made me sad to think of playing in another band and losing Nirvana, losing Kurt was a really dark, emotional experience," Grohl, now 57, explained.
Searching for clarity, Grohl rented a car and drove around the Ring of Kerry in Ireland and had a "great day." Then, he was met with a sign from the universe.
Dave Grohl and Kurt CobainCredit: Erika Goldring/Getty; Frank Micelotta/Getty
"All I wanted to do was disappear. As I was driving down this country road I see a hitchhiker and he had a Kurt Cobain t-shirt on. To me, I thought, this is the universe telling me, 'You have to continue. You have to move on. You have to go forward,'" he said.
Grohl continued, "Music has always been the love of my life. It's helped me through some of my most difficult moments and when I saw the kid with the Kurt Cobain t-shirt, I thought, 'Okay. I need to keep going.' I have so much reverence and respect for the past but I need to have a future."
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Cobain died by suicide on April 5, 1994at age 27. Nirvana disbanded shortly after.
Grohl opened up about his friendship with Cobain in his 2021 memoir, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music.
Dave Grohl in Beverly Hills in October 2018Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty
"It used to be that years ago that I would hear a Nirvana song on the radio and turn the channel," Grohl told PEOPLE at the time. "I don't do that anymore. I'll go driving with my kids in the car and they'll put on Nirvana….We don't really sit around the house, talking about Nirvana all day long, but every once in a while, they'll ask me questions and I'll explain that life to them."
At the time, he said that he thought about him "all the time."
"I just had a dream about him two nights ago. I only knew Kurt for about three and a half years, but in that time we went through multiple lifetimes. Kurt's songs touched the world," he said.
The Foo Fighters released their 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy, on April 24. Up next, the band will embark on a global tour in support of the album this summer with dates scheduled from May 2026 through January 2027.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
