Foo Fighters Announce Pair of All-Star Tributes to Taylor Hawkins – Billboard

The Foo Fighters will celebrate the life and legacy of their fallen brother drummer Taylor Hawkins the only way they know how in September: with a pair of giant rock shows celebrating the spirit and music they made together. The gigs are slated to take place on Sept. 3 at Wembley Stadium in London and Sept. 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, with tickets slated to go on sale on June 17.

The band and the Hawkins family announced the “Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts” on Wednesday (June 8), along with a message from Hawkins’ widow, Alison Hawkins, who thanked the band’s many global fans for their outpouring of support and love in the wake of Hawkins’ shocking death at age 50 on March 25 in a hotel room in Bogota, Colombia while on tour with the Foos.

“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 show our beloved Taylor,” read the statement from the Hawkins family. “Your kindness has been an invaluable comfort fro my family and me during this time of unimaginable grief.

“As Taylor’w wife, and on behalf of our children, I want to share how much you mean tot him and how dedicated he was to ‘knocking your socks off’ during every performance. 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. 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 the collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created. In celebration of his life, it is now up to all of us who loved him most to honor Taylor’s legacy and the music he gave us. Thank you all again for your love and sympathy. Taylor loved all of you & we love you too.”

According to a statement from the band — Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee — the lineups for the “all-star rock and rolls shows” will be announced shortly; to get information on ticketing and on-sale dates click here.

The band announced Hawkins’ death on March 25 before a planned headlining slot at Bogotá’s Festival Estéreo Picnic and although no definitive cause of his passing his been released yet, the Attorney General’s Office of Colombia reported a day later that a urine toxicology test had found traces of 10 types of substances in his system, including THC (marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids. The band canceled all their scheduled 2022 shows in the wake of Hawkins’ passing.

Check out the official announcement below.