Foo Fighters Pay Tribute to Late Drummer Taylor Hawkins With Emotional London Concert

Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins at the
Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins at the "Skavlan" TV show in 2017. Photo by Ibl/Shutterstock (9058475ag)

The tragic death of Taylor Hawkins was a huge loss for Foo Fighters and the music world at large and his bandmates decided to honor him through a series of tribute concerts. The first one took place at London’s Wembley Stadium this weekend, and it was a truly emotional affair.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl choked back tears as he dedicated this concert to his “dear friend, bandmate and brother”. He asked everyone attending the event to “sing and dance and laugh and cry and scream and make some noise so he can hear us right now.”

Grohl also took a moment to reflect on Hawkins’ immense love for music and said there are far too many people that he’s never got to play with. That’s why they decided to bring “a collection of friends and family and musicians” to this event, as a way of honoring Hawkins’ legacy.

The list of musicians taking part included such legends as Paul McCartney and Liam Gallagher, in addition to video tributes from Elton John, Billie Eilish, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. Several drummers took Hawkins’ seat, including Blink-182’s Travis Barker, but the most emotional moment came when his son Oliver Shane Hawkins played a powerful rendition of Foo Fighters’ “My Hero”.

Taylor Hawkins passed away in Bogotá, Colombia back in March, and the tribute concert marks the first time Foo Fighters had performed together since his death.