Taylor Hawkins’ family also announced two tribute concerts in his honor in September, which will include his Foo Fighters bandmates
The wife of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins is speaking out for the first time since his untimely death to thank his many supporters, and to share news of a pair of upcoming tribute concerts that will include his Foo Fighters bandmates.
Alison Hawkins shared a statement on Instagram on Wednesday, three months after losing her Grammy-winning husband on March 25 at age 50.
“My deepest thanks and admiration go out to the global Foo Fighters community and Taylor’s fans far and wide for the outpouring of love each and every one of you have shown our beloved Taylor,” she wrote. “Your kindness has been an invaluable comfort my family and me during this time of unimaginable grief.”
Alison, who married the rocker in 2005 and with whom she has three children, continued with a heartfelt message to fans that explained to them their role in Hawkins’ career and how they inspired him to be better.
View this post on Instagram
“As Taylor’s wife, and on behalf of our children, I want to share how much you meant to him and how dedicated he was to ‘knocking your socks off’ during every performance,” she wrote. “Taylor was honored to be a part of the Foo Fighters and valued his dream role in the band every minute of his 25 years with them. We considered every band member and the extended Foo Fighters team our family.”
She continued: “Taylor’s endearing spirit and deep love of music will live on forever through the collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created.”
Alison concluded her message “with gratitude,” and said the weight would now fall upon his loved ones to keep his spirit alive.
“In celebration of his life, it is now up to all of us who loved him most to honor Taylor’s legacy and the music he gave us,” she wrote. “Thank you all again for your love and sympathy. Taylor loved all of you & we love you too.”
In conjunction with the statement, the Hawkins family also announced that tribute concerts will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sept. 3 and The Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sept. 27.
“Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee will come together with the Hawkins family to celebrate the life, music and love of their husband, father, brother and bandmate with The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts,” a press release said.
The concerts will pair the surviving Foo Fighters with other musicians idolized by Hawkins to play “the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.” Tickets go on sale June 17.
Hawkins died in Bogotá, Colombia shortly before a scheduled music festival performance after complaining of chest pains in his hotel. An investigation into his cause of death is ongoing.
Credit: Taylor Hawkins Official/Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cei5kRRrokJ/?hl=en
The Foo Fighters canceled all scheduled performances in the wake of his death, and their slot in New Orleans was taken by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Both Alison and Dave Grohl were present for the performance, and RHCP drummer Chad Smith told Billboard that Alison was a big part of the performance planning process.
“We’re taking Alison, his wife, with us and it’s going to be a celebration. 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,” Smith said. “This is what he would want and he would be very happy that you guys are playing and he would want it [to] be nothing but a positive experience.’ So we’re going to do all that and she’s going to be part of that and I’m very honored that we can do that with her. … We’re going to play our hearts out.”
[via]
