Red Hot Chili Peppers finished off their live set at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival over the weekend by paying tribute to Taylor Hawkins.
The Foo Fighters drummer sadly died in March aged 50.
The band paid this special tribute to Hawkins after their live cover of ‘By The Way’. Following this, Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith whose drum kit had ‘Taylor’ emblazoned on it, addressed the audience.
Chili Peppers were performing at this venue after the Foo Fighters dropped out following Hawkins’ death. This fact was referred to by Smith when he spoke to the crowd.
“We just found out about this [gig] two weeks ago, because Foo Fighters were supposed to play here tonight”, he said. “We love the Foo Fighters, and we love our brother Taylor Hawkins. So this means a lot to us to be able to play for them”.
Chili Peppers Chant: “We love Taylor”
Chad Smith also pointed out that Taylor Hawkins’ wife Alison was also in attendance, alongside several Foos bandmembers.
The drummer said “the guys in the band are here”, before declaring “We love them. We love Taylor”.
Smith subsequently urged the fans to chant in unison “We love Taylor!”. You can see the footage for yourselves below.
Chad Smith had also revealed earlier this week that he had already been in touch with Alison, telling her that Chili Peppers’ set would be a “celebration” of her late husband.
“That’s what she wants”, Smith stated.
“She doesn’t want it to be anything other than, ‘Let’s celebrate music, let’s celebrate our friends, let’s celebrate Taylor. This is what he would want and he would be very happy that you guys are playing and he would want it be nothing but a positive experience.’ So we’re going to do all that and she’s going to be part of that and I’m very honored that we can do that with her. … We’re going to play our hearts out”.
Along with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sam Hagar and the Circle also paid tribute to Hawkins over the weekend.
Like Chili Peppers, Sam Hagar and the Circle also performed at the festival in Foo Fighters’ absence, with Hagar dedicating a live performance of ‘My Hero’ in Hawkins’ honour. See that here.
The band’s latest album ‘Unlimited Love’ also hit number one in the Billboard Top 100 within the first week of its release.
