The music world has been reeling since Foo Fighters announced the death of their beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins on Friday night. Artists quickly took to social media to remember the charismatic percussionist, and over the weekend, those who played live paid tribute through covers, dedications, and kind words.
Mammoth WVH covered Foo Fighters’ 1998 hit “My Hero” during a show in Boston last night. “He was a hero to me, and a hero to all of us, and a hero to countless people, so we feel this is necessary,” Wolfgang Van Halen said before admitting the band learned the song earlier that day. He ended the performance with the simple words, “Rest in peace, Taylor. We love you.”
Stereophonics also covered the Foos live, choosing a pared-back version of 2005’s “Best of Me.” “We all woke up to the sad news today,” frontman Kelly Jones told the crowd. “We’ve all been in that position in this band, where we’ve lost a band member.” He continued by saying Stereophonics had met Hawkins a few times and were dedicating the song to his family and bandmates. They shared footage on Twitter with the caption: “RIP Taylor – our thoughts and prayers to his family and bandmates.”
RIP Taylor – our thoughts and prayers to his family and bandmates. pic.twitter.com/sx9JkQOJav
— stereophonics (@stereophonics) March 26, 2022
Other artists chose to pay tribute to Hawkins through their own songs. Liam Gallagher dedicated Oasis’ “Live Forever” to him, saying, “This is for you, brother.” Slash dedicated his solo song “Starlight,” Coldplay performed “Everglow” in his honor, and Elton John spoke about Hawkins playing on his Lockdown Sessions EP before performing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”
.@coldplay le dedicó "Everglow" a Taylor Hawkins durante su show en el Estadio BBVA en Monterrey. Chris Martin reveló que justo antes de subir al escenario, la banda se enteró de la triste noticia del fallecimiento del baterista de los @foofighters ? pic.twitter.com/FZo9vmoEVD
— Sopitas (@sopitas) March 26, 2022
Miley Cyrus dedicated her whole Lollapalooza Brazil set to Hawkins (the Foos were supposed to play the festival today). She told an emotional story about calling Hawkins after her plane was struck by lightning and forced to make an emergency landing.
“We had to make an emergency landing, and the first person I called was Taylor because he was already at the festival and that would have been a time that I would have gotten to see my friend and I didn’t,” Cyrus said, breaking down in tears. “I would have done anything to hang out with him one more time.” She then sang “Angels Like You” through tears.
Miley Cyrus dedicates ‘Angels Like You’ to Taylor Hawkins at Lollapalooza Brazil ?
pic.twitter.com/KDj9RJITVH— Miley Nation (@MileyNation13) March 27, 2022
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Hawkins was found dead in his Bogotá, Colombia hotel room on Friday night. Local health officials have shared more details regarding his death; however, an official cause has yet to be revealed. He was 50 years old and is survived by his wife and three children.
