Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl got emotional while performing at a special concert in London honoring the band's late drummer, Taylor Hawkins–who died at the age of 50 after being found unresponsive in a hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia, on March 25, 2022.
Saturday's six-hour-long tribute concert featured appearances by Paul McCartney, Liam Gallagher, Dave Chappelle and Hawkins’ 16-year-old son Shane.
When Grohl took to the stage to perform the band's 2003 song, “Times Like These"–from the Foo Fighters' fourth album, One by One–he became visibly emotional during the acapella intro and took a moment to regain his composure.
The supportive audience cheered him on as Grohl fought back tears.
You can watch the clip here.
Fans who also mourned the loss of the venerated musician related to Grohl's breakdown mid-performance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we gathered here to celebrate the life, the music, and the love of our dear friend, our bandmate, our brother, Taylor Hawkins," Grohl told the audience to kick off the concert after they started chanting, "Taylor, Taylor."
He continued:
"For those of you who knew him personally, you know that no one else can make you smile, or laugh, or dance, or sing like he could."
"And for those of you who admired him from afar, I'm sure you've felt the same thing."
A memorable highlight was when Hawkin's son Shane jammed on the drums during a performance for the band's single, "My Hero."
The family affair continued with Grohl's daughter Violet participating in the celebration of Hawkin's life by singing a Jeff Buckley cover song while her father got behind the drum kit to accompany her.
The London tribute was one of two performances honoring Hawkins, with a second one to take place at Los Angeles' Kia Forum on September 27.
Hawkins joined Foo Fighters in 1997 as their drummer and went on to record eight studio albums with them between 1999 and 2021.
He was previously a drummer for Sass Jordan and Alanis Morissette, as well for the band Sylvia–whose musical sound was described as a fusion of hard progressive rock and psychedelia.
In 2005, Hawkins was named "Best Rock Drummer" by the British drumming magazine Rhythm.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a member of Foo Fighters.
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