Congregation (song)

The song was recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville, Tennessee and featured in the third episode of TV documentary Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways which documents the music history of Nashville.[4] The third episode of Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways focuses on the country music scene of Nashville that is known as the Nashville sound.[5] 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."[6]

Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl told Q: "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."[6] Grohl also explained that the lyrics: "And they're singing like a bluebird in the round," references Nashville's iconic Bluebird Café, 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."[6]

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.[7]

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.