The Red Hot Chili Peppers paid tribute to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins during a performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday.
Hawkins died in March.
The band replaced the Foo Fighters at the event after they canceled upcoming tour dates after Hawkins' death.
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith honored Hawkins, who was a friend, by performing behind a drum kit with Hawkins' name emblazoned across the front. Smith also remembered Hawkins in a speech at the end of set.
"We just found out about this two weeks ago, because Foo Fighters were supposed to play here tonight," Smith said in footage from the event posted on Instagram.
"We love Foo Fighters, and we love our brother Taylor Hawkins. This means a lot to us to be able to play for them."
Smith continued: "The guys in the band are here, they're supporting. Taylor's wife Alison and his whole family are here, we love them, we love Taylor."
Smith told Billboard before the show that the Red Hot Chili Peppers had spoken to Hawkins' wife and that the band would take to the stage in "celebration" of the late musician.
"We're taking Alison, his wife, with us and it's going to be a celebration,” Smith said. "That's what she wants. She doesn't want it to be anything other than, 'Let's celebrate music, let's celebrate our friends, let's celebrate Taylor.'"
Hawkins died during a South American tour with the Foo Fighters on March 25. No cause of death has been made public, but according to NME, a toxicology test revealed that multiple drugs including opiates, antidepressants, and marijuana were found in Hawkins' system at the time of his death.
Shortly after Hawkins' death, the Red Hot Chili Peppers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Smith paid tribute to Hawkins at the Los Angeles Event as well.
"I have to give a shout out to my brother Taylor Hawkins, who I love and we'll all miss so much," he said, according to NME. "He's flying around … he would laugh and make a nice smart-a** comment about this whole thing, and I love him."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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