Foo Fighters Plan Two Tribute Shows for Taylor Hawkins
Foo Fighters have scheduled a pair of tribute concerts to late drummer Taylor Hawkins, marking their first live appearances since Hawkins’ death in March.
The band announced the shows on Instagram Wednesday. The first will take place Sept. 3 at Wembley Stadium in London, while the second will be held Sept. 27 at the Forum in Los Angeles. Full lineups for the shows will be announced at a later date. Tickets will go on sale June 17 via the Foo Fighters’ website.
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“Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolized,” Foo Fighters said in a statement. “The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon — his bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.”
Along with announcing the shows, the Foo Fighters shared a statement from Hawkins’ widow, Alison: “My deepest thanks and admiration go out to the global Foo Fighters community and Taylor’s fans far and wide for the outpouring of love each and every one of you have shown our beloved Taylor,” she wrote. “Your kindness has been an invaluable comfort for my family and me during this time of unimaginable grief.
“Taylor was honored to be a part of the Foo Fighters and valued his dream role in the band every minute of his 25 years with them,” she added. “We consider every band member and the extended Foo Fighters team our family. Taylor’s endearing spirit and deep love of music will live on forever through collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created.”
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Hawkins died March 25 at the age of 50 while the Foo Fighters were on tour in South America. An official cause of death is still unknown.
Speaking with Rolling Stone after his death, one of Hawkins’ longtime friends, the guitarist Stevie Salas, spoke about the relentless drive that made him a great drummer. “I believe Taylor wanted to be great so bad, and I believe he never believed he was great,” Salas said. “I believe Taylor would sit down every day and think that he wasn’t good enough, and he would work and work and work at being great. I used to tell him, ‘Dude, you can relax now. Everything’s good.’ But I don’t believe that he ever really did relax and feel great about himself as a musician.”
