Dave Grohl has picked himself up off the floor and assembled a team that has been busy organizing a tribute concert to celebrate the life of acclaimed Foo Fighter drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died on March 25, 2022, while on tour in Bogota, Colombia. Toxicology tests revealed the presence of a myriad of nasty drugs in his system; the cause of death was ultimately pronounced as cardiac arrest. Tragically, the 50 year old left behind a wife and 3 children.
“All great achievements require time.” (Maya Angelou, American memoirist, poet and civil rights activist)
“Time is the least thing we have.” (Ernest Hemingway, American novelist)
The first tribute concert will be held at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday, September 3rd, followed by the Los Angeles Kia Forum on Tuesday, September 27th.
Livestreams and concert specials will be available to global audiences across CBS, MTV Entertainment, Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Tickets to both shows are completely sold out.
Ticket and merchandise sales from both concerts will benefit Music Support and MusiCares, two charities chosen by the Hawkins family, both of which focus on mental health and addiction.
The list of performers is growing every day and promises to be an historic coming together of top drumming talent, Hawkins collaborators and others.
On the play card so far:
Travis Barker (Blink-182), Mark King (Level 42), Martin Chambers (The Pretenders), Josh Freese (Guns ‘n Roses), Brian Johnson (AC/DC), Kesha, Luke Spiller (The Struts), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Nandi Bushell (child social media drumming celebrity), Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction), Stewart Copeland (The Police), Liam Gallagher (Oasis), Omar Hakim (multifaced drummer/educator), Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Chrissie Hynde (Sex Pistols), Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Greg Kurstin (producer), Geddy Lee (Rush), Alex Lifeston (Rush), Brian May (Queen), Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Nile Rogers (Chic), Mark Ronson (songwriter-producer), Roger Taylor (Queen), Rufus Taylor (The Darkness), Wolfgang Van Halen (Van Halen, son of Eddie), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), Phil Collen (Def Leppard), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Mark King (Level 42), Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts), Alanis Morissette, PINK, LeeAnn Rimes, Gene Simmons (Kiss), Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Luke Spiller (The Struts), Jon Theodore (Queens of the Stone Age), Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine), Nancy Wilson (Heart), Patrick Wilson (Weezer), members of Supergrass and Chevy Metal, as well as comedians Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock.
Taylor Hawkins’ frenetic blonde hair, beaming smile, incredible talent and musical energy will be missed.
“The one thing I do know is that I’m the best Taylor Hawkins drummer there is, and that’s all I can hope to be.” (Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters)
Hawkins has joined the ranks of other percussive geniuses who we also deeply miss, each in their unique way: Cream’s Keith Ginger, Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, The Who’s Keith Moon, and Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones.
The mojo of a drummer is difficult to describe without being a drummer. Here’s Hawkins sharing his drumming journey and approach to the instrument:
To warm up for the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert, you might want to take in a few flicks beforehand.
“Count Me In”, currently available on Netflix, is a great drumming documentary. Another film about keeping time promises to be released on October 28th. “Let There Be Drums!” is directed by the son of Grateful Dead co-drummer, Bill Kreutzman. Can’t wait to see it.
Christian Bale learned how to play the drums for the movie “The Great Short”, using drumming as a means of escape from his high-stress job as a hedge fund manager. His amateur blowing-off-steam heavy metal drumming scene in the movie is amazing, as is the story about how he was taught how to play drums in just a few weeks.
Drumming is all about time. It was not time for Taylor Hawkins to die. It was not time for his family to suffer. It was not time for the Foo Fighters to have the wind knocked out of the group. It never is time for mental health and addiction to end lives. Let’s make more time to properly identify, understand and solve this pervasive problem.
“We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” (Nelson Mandela)
Now take what you’ve learned and play today’s Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert Quiz of the Day:
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