Taylor Hawkins, established drummer from a multitude of bands and side projects but most notable for being a part of the esteemed rock band Foo Fighters, passed away March 25, 2022 in Brazil during the South American leg of their tour. 

To celebrate the life of the renowned drummer, idols, collaborators, close friends, and family of Hawkins came together to put on two epic shows for fans around the world.

Foo Fighters members (lead singer and guitarist Dave Grohl, rhythm guitarist Pat Smear, lead guitarist Chris Shiflett, bassist Nate Mendel, and keyboardist Rami Jaffee) appeared regularly throughout both concerts, joining the stage with the various artists.

Performers from both concerts include Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Rush’s Geddy Lee, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Blink-182’s Travis Barker, and Hawkins’ son Shane Hawkins who stole both shows with his drum performances alongside Foo Fighters during “My Hero.”

The London and Los Angeles concerts respectively filled the sold-out stadiums with utmost joy, tears, dancing, and celebration of Hawkins’ life and legacy. Fans are present-minded with whoever is performing on stage at that moment.

 “This collection of friends and family and musicians, this is all brought together by him,” Grohl said. “And we’re all connected here today by that one guy.” 

The first concert took place on Sept. 3 in London at Wembley Stadium and saw much success with appearances from numerous artists. 

The James Gang reunited on stage after 16 years of separation. This monumental moment was made possible by Hawkins due to his expressed love for the rock band. 

“If you’ve ever seen a picture of Taylor Hawkins, most likely he was wearing a f—— hat that said ‘James Gang’ on it,” Grohl said. “I think that the James Gang might have been maybe his favorite band of all time; [guitarist] Joe Walsh maybe his favorite person of all time. And so, tonight, we’re all very lucky to have a band that re-formed after 15 years of not playing gigs, re-formed for this gig tonight”.

Following the James Gang’s set, Grohl’s daughter Violet appeared on stage covering Jeff Buckley’s songs “Grace” and “Last Goodbye”, and later covered The Zunton’s “Valerie” with Mark Ronson, Chris Chaney, and Jason Falkner. 

Opening the Los Angeles concert, to which they are referring to as the ‘hometown’ show, Violet Grohl sits in a single spot alongside guitarist Alain Johannes for a tear-jerking rendition of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen (also notably covered by Buckley).

Pinnacle moments from the LA show include the extraordinary collaboration of artists that came together on stage. The rocking performance of Heart’s “Barracuda” with Nancy Wilson, Foo Fighters, Jon Theodore, and P!nk was just as good as the original. 

Alanis Morissette performed one of her biggest hits “You Oughta Know”, backed by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith who was extremely close with Hawkins. Prior to joining Foo Fighters, Hawkins toured with Morissette from 1995 to 1997 and appeared in a few of her music videos. 

Despite being on the lineup for the London show, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic finally made an appearance at the LA concert with his iconic bass playing with Soundgarden’s lead guitarist Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron (also current drummer of Pearl Jam), Foo Fighters, and vocalist Taylor Momsen for an epic performance of Soundgarden’s essential track “Black Hole Sun.”

At the onset of concluding the night, the Foo Fighters set featured quintessential and underground tracks, Hawkins’ favorite songs to perform, and a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.”

To kick off their tribute to Hawkins, Josh Freese joined members of Foo Fighters on stage for “All My Life”. Cameron returned to stage for “Low” which is a rarity on Foo Fighter concert setlists contrary to it being one of Hawkins’ favorite tracks to perform live. 

The second-to-last drummer to join Foo Fighters was Shane Hawkins with his emotional set of not just “My Hero” (like at Wembley) but also an unbelievable performance of “I’ll Stick Around.”

The Los Angeles show came to its end with Foo Fighters’ number one hit “Everlong” with Smith for yet another distinguished drum performance in dedication to his friend.  

Although the LA tribute was not live streamed, the London show is available on Paramount+ along with an hour-long special. 

Overall, both concerts paid an epic homage to Taylor Hawkins who touched the lives of friends, family, colleagues, his greatest influences, and fans around the globe.