Pearl Jam paid tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins on Saturday by covering Foo Fighters’ “A Cold Day in the Sun.” Watch the performance below.
The moment occurred during the band’s concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with drummer Matt Cameron taking over vocals from Eddie Vedder on the Hawkins-sung single from 2005’s In Your Honor.
“It’s never easy when you lose someone,” said the frontman to introduce the number. “As you get older, you’ll notice it starts happening more and more. It’s just where you are on the timeline and where your friends are on the timeline. But sometimes, like this, it’s so unexpected. It also makes it harder because he was someone who truly, truly loved living life on this planet. I guess the one thing we can be consoled by is the fact that he never wasted a moment, and he did live his life to the fullest. We just wanted more of it.”
Hawkins sadly passed away in March while on tour in Bogotá, Colombia — just hours before Foo Fighters had been set to headline Estereo Picnic Festival. Days later, they would have also played Lollapalooza Brasil. In the wake of Hawkins’ death, Dave Grohl and the rest of the band have cancelled all upcoming appearances and tour dates for the foreseeable future.
Red Hot Chili Peppers also honored Hawkins during their headlining performance at New Orleans Jazz Fest last weekend, which they played in place of Foo Fighters. The late drummer’s wife and family were also in attendance during the show.