Taylor Hawkins Honored in Tribute Concert
A fitting memorial for the Foo Fighters’ extraordinary drummer
September 16, 2022
On September 3, the Foo Fighters took the stage at London’s Wembley Stadium to honor the late Taylor Hawkins in a six-hour tribute concert. A line-up of stars like Sir Paul McCartney, Queen’s Roger Taylor, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, among many others, joined to commemorate the legendary drummer.
Hawkins passed away in March, shortly before the band was supposed to take the stage at the Festival Estereo Picnic in Bogota, Colombia. The band was on tour at the time and canceled the rest of the dates instantly. The tribute concert marked the band’s first performance since Hawkins’ death.
Oliver Shane Hawkins, Taylor Hawkins’ 16-year-old son, joined the band in a deeply touching performance of the song, “My Hero.” The entire Wembley crowd was in tears, along with the rest of the band members.
An emotional Dave Grohl told the crowd, “Taylor loved to jam and record with anybody and everybody. He loved to play music every day. And there aren’t too many people that he’s never jammed with. So this collection of friends and family and musicians, this is all brought together by him and we’re all connected here today by that one guy.”
Queen’s lead guitarist, Brian May, performed the hit song “Love of my Life.” He called on the audience to light up the stadium with their flashlights and produced a beautiful atmosphere.
Comedians Dave Chapelle, Jason Sudeikis, and Chris Rock told 80,000 fans heartwarming anecdotes of their experiences with Hawkins.
Another tribute concert will take place in Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on September 27. Joan Jett, Miley Cyrus, and Alanis Morissette, along with other world-renowned artists, will join the line-up, making the night absolutely unforgettable.