Watch Dave Grohl's touching tribute to 'hometown hero' Taylor Hawkins at Foo Fighters gig

Virgin Radio

3 Oct 2023, 14:30

Dave Grohl, the frontman of Foo Fighters, delivered an emotional tribute to Taylor Hawkins, the band's drummer, at their headline performance at Ohana Festival.

The festival, held near Taylor Hawkins' hometown, had special significance as it was just seven miles from where he grew up in Laguna Beach, California.

During the performance, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl took a moment to pay tribute to Hawkins, who unfortunately passed away last, and dedicated the track Aurora from the album There Is Nothing Left to Lose to the late drummer, who was a beloved figure in his hometown.

“He is, indeed, the hometown hero of this show, everybody f***ing give it up for Taylor Hawkins right now,” Grohl told the audience to huge applause.

A clearly affected Grohl then continued to acknowledge Hawkins as he shared a story of trip he once made with the drummer and his family to Laguna Beach, saying: “It’s a trip. I came down here with him every once in a while (and) hung out at the house he grew up in. Hung out with his mom, hung out with his dad. Hung out with his brother and sister.

“It was weird because I never really understood Taylor Hawkins until I f***ing came to Laguna. And then I was like ‘Oh, yeah, OK, I get it. That’s who you are!'

“We had good times down here, so I knew that tonight would be kind of heavy because we are here where Taylor grew up, but I want this next song to be a celebration of his life, all right?”

Grohl clearly still feels an emotional weight performing without Hawkins, and it was evidently made all the heavier performing in his departed friend and musical collaborator's hometown.

He then continued to emphasise the importance of celebrating Hawkins' life through music.

Before they played the dedication Grohl with his voice cracking, added : “This is the first song that we wrote together and we’ll play it every night for the rest of our lives.”

This isn't the only dedication Grohl has been making this year, their most recent album But Here We Are is not only dedicated to Hawkins but also to Grohl's mother, she also passed away last year but this information was not known to the public until the album's release.

After the Ohana Festival performance, Foo Fighters announced a 12-date headline US stadium tour for July and August 2024, reflecting their ongoing dedication to their music and the memories of Taylor Hawkins.

This Summer at Glastonbury, The Foos performed a secret set on the Pyramid Stage under the emotionally charged but playful name The Churn-ups, which referenced a post the band had made where Grohl shared a hand written not expressing how the year had 'churned up' a lot of feelings for him.

The surprise performance has also led some to speculate, including Madonna, that the band will return to Worthy Farm to headline Glastonbury 2024.

This would be the second time the band will have had the honour, having headlined back in 2017.

They were original scheduled to do so back in 2015, however they had to postpone due to Grohl breaking his leg onstage at a prior gig, which led to Florence + The Machine having to fill in.