“Dave Grohl is the heart of Foo Fighters, but Taylor Hawkins was its rock star,” read the headline in The Times following Hawkins’ death on March 25 at age 50. Six months later, those sentiments ring truer than ever.
Tonight at the Kia Forum, the Foo Fighters and Hawkins’ family will present the second all-star tribute concert to the late drummer, some fifty miles from Laguna Beach, where Hawkins first started pounding on a kit and dreaming of rock stardom. On Sept. 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium, rockers including Liam Gallagher, Josh Homme, Wolfgang Van Halen, Travis Barker and Paul McCartney all paid their musical respects; Hawkins’ son Shane, a powerhouse drummer like his dad, joined the Foos on “My Hero” and brought the crowd, live and watching via stream around the world, to tears.
Expected guests tonight include Stewart Copeland, Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, Alanis Morissette, Mark Ronson, Gene Simmons, Nikki Sixx, Chad Smith and Roger Taylor. While the Kia Forum show is not streaming, The Times’ Mikael Wood will be reporting live beginning just before 7 p.m.