Taylor Hawkins' Son Just Made A Tear-Jerking Tribute To His Late Father

In March, American musician and drummer for iconic rock band Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, died at age 50 in a Bogotá, Colombia hotel room while on tour in South America. He and Foo Fighters were scheduled to play at the Estéreo Picnic Festival, though that performance was understandably canceled. 

Although no cause of death was given at the time, the Colombian Attorney General later said Hawkins' urine toxicology test revealed 10 different substances in his system at the time of his death, including opioids, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and marijuana, per Newsweek. He left behind his wife, Alison, and three children — Oliver Shane, Annabelle, and Everleigh — per TMZ.

Hawkins was a major figure in the musical world, having been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with his band only the previous year, in 2021, and was even named one of the best rock drummers of all time by Drum Magazine. As part of the Foo Fighters, he had also won 15 Grammy Awards from 1996 onward, from 31 nominations. Naturally, the musical world responded to his untimely death with grief and innumerable musical tributes. However, there is one tear-jerking tribute which stands above all the rest — that made by his only son, 16-year-old Oliver Shane.

On September 3, Oliver Shane Hawkins got behind the drum set onstage at London's Wembley Stadium to perform a tribute to his late father, Taylor Hawkins. There, he performed Foo Fighters' 1998 single, "My Hero." 

Per Rolling Stone, the concert had an all-star cast of drummers, which began with the likes of Travis Barker, Josh Freese, and Rufus Taylor — among others — and ended with the young Hawkins. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone hit the drums as hard as this person," Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl told the audience, "but beyond that, he's a member of our family." This is not the first time Hawkins' son took to the drums to pay tribute to his late father; in early July, the 16-year-old played alongside a local band in Laguna Beach, California, for a Fourth of July party, per the Daily Mail. Fittingly, they played the same song. 

Viewers and Foo Fighters fans' hearts went out to the late Hawkins and his loved ones in the aftermath of the performance. "Beautifully heart breaking," one Twitter user wrote. Newscaster Julianne Pelusi spoke for many fans when she declared that, "It was such an emotional moment, and Oliver Shane Hawkins nailed it for his dad."