Listen: Foo Fighters head to Nashville for rootsy ‘Congregation’

Have Foo Fighters gone country?

Well, not quite. But the hard-rock band sounds like it was inspired by at least the idea of roots music in “Congregation,” a new song posted online late Thursday.

Keyed to Friday night’s scheduled episode of HBO’s “Sonic Highways” in which Dave Grohl and his bandmates visit Music City, “Congregation” sets lyrics about Southern Ground and a bluebird singing in the round against jangly guitars and a crisp power-pop beat.

Southern Ground is the name of Zac Brown’s Nashville recording studio, where Foo Fighters laid down “Congregation” with help from that bearded country-jam star. And the Bluebird Cafe, as any “Nashville” viewer knows, is the popular songwriters’ haunt that Grohl recently popped into for a surprise acoustic gig.

The frontman will return to town Friday night for a full-band concert, one announced just days ago, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

“Congregation” is the latest track to surface from the Foo Fighters’ upcoming studio album, which like the HBO series is called “Sonic Highways.” With tracks written and recorded in eight American cities (including Chicago, New Orleans and the band’s home base of Los Angeles), the record is due out Nov. 10.

Twitter: @mikaelwood