Canada's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush and Alanis Morissette are among the music stars who will pay tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in September.
When Hawkins died, Lee and Lifeson – who lost their drummer Neil Peart in January 2020 – said in a joint statement: “He was such an incredibly positive source of music, energy and love, and a true artist to his very core…there are simply no words to adequately express just how much he will be missed by all.”
Hawkins was on hand to induct Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
Lee and Lifeson will be part of the shows at London's Wembley Stadium on Sept. 3 and at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sept. 27. Morissette will take part in the Los Angeles tribute.
In the mid-1990s, Hawkins was the touring drummer for Canada’s Alanis Morissette, backing her during the Jagged Little Pill and Can't Not tours and appearing in several of her music videos, including the one for her breakthrough hit "You Oughta Know." in 2019, he presented Morissette with the Icon Award at Billboard’s Women in Music gala.
Also in the line-up for the previously announced tribute show in London are Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen as well as artists like Stewart Copeland, Liam Gallagher, Chrissie Hyde, Mark Ronson and Wolfgang Van Halen.
Some of the same artists will also be at the Los Angeles show, which will also feature Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett and Nikki Sixx.
The tributes were announced last week by Foo Fighters and Hawkins' widow Alison.
“As one of the most respected and beloved figures in modern music, Taylor’s monolithic talent and magnetic personality endeared him to millions of fans, peers, friends and fellow musical legends the world over,” reads a description. “Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolized.
“The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon – his bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.”
Hawkins was found unresponsive in his suite at Bogotá’s Four Seasons Casa Medina. An “initial forensic examination” found “THX (Marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids, among others” in his system.
The concerts mark a return to the stage for the surviving members of the Foo Fighters, who cancelled tour dates following Hawkins’ death.
This article has been updated since it was first published.