Queens of the Stone Age Solna: the band at Strawberry Arena 29 June 2026
You might not know the name Josh Homme, but you have definitely hummed the riff in "No One Knows" at some point. The strange thing is that riff had been waiting for its life for roughly five years before it became a hit. Homme let songs mature at their own pace, and "No One Knows" existed before the recording sessions, and Homme has said that a song sometimes rewrites itself one or five years later and becomes what it was meant to be. Now the man and his band are coming to Sweden, and anyone who wants to see Queens of the Stone Age Solna gets their chance on 29 June 2026 at Strawberry Arena.
Queens of the Stone Age Solna: everything about the concert
Queens of the Stone Age Solna takes place on 29 June 2026 at Strawberry Arena, and it is a stadium evening rather than a club show. The band also shares the night with some heavy company.
Queens of the Stone Age are running the 2026 European summer tour together with System of a Down and Acid Bath, and the Stockholm date at Strawberry Arena is one of the stops on that run. That means a full rock setup at a large arena, not the scaled-down theatre version the band has toured with separately. Tickets are sold through the usual channels such as Ticketmaster, and it pays to be early when three names of this size share a bill.
If you want to plan your whole summer there are more tips in our events calendar and among our concerts. Strawberry Arena in Solna is the same arena that is otherwise filled by Swedish top-flight football, for example the match AIK - GAIS a couple of weeks later.
The man behind Queens of the Stone Age
Josh Homme is the brain and the only one who has been there the whole way. The band was born out of the California desert after his previous group called it quits.
Homme is best known as the founder and only constant remaining member of Queens of the Stone Age, which he formed in 1996 shortly after his previous band Kyuss split up, and he is the band's primary songwriter who mostly sings and plays guitar. Before that, he had a period as a touring guitarist in Screaming Trees between 1996 and 1998, before he left to start Queens of the Stone Age.
The name has a history that says a lot about Homme's sense of humour. "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname that producer Chris Goss gave Kyuss. Homme has explained the reasoning plainly: "Kings" would be too macho, the kings of the Stone Age wear armour and wrestle, while the queens hang out with the kings' girlfriends while they wrestle, and rock should be heavy enough for the guys and sweet enough for the girls.
Since 2013 the lineup has been stable. The core consists of Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, lap steel and keyboards, Michael Shuman on bass and keyboards, Dean Fertita on keyboards and guitar, and Jon Theodore on drums. Homme has never been afraid of side projects either: he formed the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures together with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones in 2009 and released their debut album the same year.
Songs for the Deaf and the big breakthrough
If one album made Queens of the Stone Age a household name worldwide it is Songs for the Deaf from 2002. The key ingredient was, among other things, Dave Grohl behind the drums.
Songs for the Deaf is the band's third studio album, released on 27 August 2002 on Interscope Records. It is built as a journey: a loose concept album that takes the listener on a road trip through the California desert from Los Angeles towards Joshua Tree, tuning into radio stations from the towns along the way. The reception spoke for itself. The record was praised by critics and gave the band its first gold certification in the US.
Grohl stepping in was no coincidence. He had admired Queens of the Stone Age since they supported Foo Fighters and had wanted to contribute as far back as the predecessor Rated R, and Homme, whom he had been friends with since 1992 during the Kyuss days, invited him in October 2000. Grohl was so committed to the project that he put Foo Fighters on hold and pushed back their upcoming album One by One to October 2002 in order to tour with Songs for the Deaf.
That combination changed everything in practical terms. A five-minute song with jam sections suddenly sounded like a single to the record label, and bassist Nick Oliveri was himself sceptical. Yet the band held firm to their approach. Queens of the Stone Age stood their ground, made no cuts and released the full five-minute version, jam sections and all. The gamble paid off: "No One Knows" became the band's first single on the Billboard Hot 100 and their only single to top the American alternative chart.
The story behind "No One Knows"
The song that made everyone listen has one of rock's most bizarre music videos. And the riff was recycled from an entirely different context.
Homme does not rush, as mentioned. The main riff of "No One Knows" had actually appeared earlier, on a track from his side project The Desert Sessions, before it landed in its final form. That patient approach to songwriting is essentially the whole secret behind the band's best material.
The video is a story in itself. In it, three band members, Homme, Oliveri and Mark Lanegan, play hunters driving a jeep who accidentally hit a deer, but the deer gets the last laugh when it wakes up, knocks each hunter on the head, takes their car and terrorises a group of scouts before mounting the band members' heads on a wall. Behind the camera stood two heavyweights: the video was directed by Michel Gondry and Dean Karr, with Gondry, known for his work with Björk, filming the first half at the end of June 2002 while Karr filmed the second half in mid-July.
The song's status has only grown over the years. Rolling Stone placed "No One Knows" at number 97 on its list of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time. It is, in short, the song most people in the audience are waiting for.
The Catacombs, "In Times New Roman" and the 2026 tour
In recent years Queens of the Stone Age have done something unusual: played deep underground. But the concert in Solna belongs to the grand, electric side of the band.
The most recent studio album came in 2023. The eighth studio album, "In Times New Roman...", was released on Matador Records and featured the singles "Emotion Sickness", "Carnavoyeur" and "Paper Machete". After that the band took an unexpected turn. In 2025 they announced a concert film titled "Alive in the Catacombs", recorded in the Paris catacombs in 2024, featuring acoustic arrangements and additional string musicians. The film led to its own tour where the band interpreted their catalogue in a scaled-down format for smaller theatre venues.
The difference here is worth underlining. The catacomb concerts with strings and a formal dress code were a thing unto themselves. The evening in Solna belongs to the European stadium run, where the band plays together with System of a Down and Acid Bath. That means you get the heavy, riff-driven Queens of the Stone Age rather than the subdued acoustic version. The band also has a long and distinguished career behind them: Songs for the Deaf was their breakthrough album and brought them international attention, and since then they have built one of rock's most respected catalogues.
What to expect in Solna
An arena evening with three bands means a long running time and high volume. Plan the evening accordingly and count on the classics in the Queens set.
The setlist varies from night to night, but the band's most played songs tend to return. Expect the breakthrough hits from Songs for the Deaf alongside later favourites such as "Little Sister" and "Make It Wit Chu". Since it is a co-headline tour with System of a Down it will be a long night, so check door times and what time Queens of the Stone Age actually take the stage before you decide when to show up.
Strawberry Arena is located in Solna and is easily reached by public transport from central Stockholm. The arena is otherwise heavily used for football, such as the Swedish top-flight clash AIK Stockholm mot Gais, so many Stockholm visitors already know how to get there. If you are looking for more major events in the capital that same summer you will find them gathered among our festivals in Stockholm.
Frequently asked questions about Queens of the Stone Age in Solna
When and where do Queens of the Stone Age play in Solna?
The band plays on 29 June 2026 at Strawberry Arena in Solna, which is located just north of central Stockholm.
Which other bands play the same evening?
The Stockholm date is part of the European tour where Queens of the Stone Age perform together with System of a Down and Acid Bath. It will be a full day of heavy rock.
Is this the acoustic catacombs concert?
No. The catacombs concerts with string arrangements were a separate, scaled-down tour. The evening in Solna is an electric stadium show with a full band setup.
Who exactly are Queens of the Stone Age?
They are an American rock band founded in 1996 by Josh Homme, who is the only permanent remaining member. They broke through in a big way with the album Songs for the Deaf in 2002 and the song "No One Knows".
Where do I buy tickets?
Tickets for arena concerts of this size are sold through official channels such as Ticketmaster. Be early, as demand for a co-headline tour with three big names tends to be high.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf, No One Knows, The Catacombs Tour
- Last.fm: biography and discography for Queens of the Stone Age
- Louder Sound and The Sound Vault: the background to the song and video "No One Knows"
- Consequence, Vice and Brooklyn Vegan: 2026 tour dates (Stockholm, Strawberry Arena, 29 June, with System of a Down and Acid Bath)
- nupagång: AIK - GAIS - Allsvenskan 2026, AIK Stockholm - Gais (Strawberry Arena, Solna), and the hubs concerts and events calendar