Last night at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum, a powerful lineup of musicians showed up to honor the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in a special tribute concert. (Hawkins passed away in March.) The show spanned several hours, with everyone from Joan Jett, Kesha, Mark Ronson, Alanis Morissette, Miley Cyrus, and more giving special performances in his honor. (The event also benefited two charities: Music Support and Musicares.) One of the special guests was none other than actor and Tenacious D musician Jack Black, who gave some touching words on Hawkins as he introduced Rush’s set.
“What an incredible show, what an incredible tribute to a beautiful man,” Black started his speech as the crowd cheered. “I was lucky. I got to see Taylor live in person several times and he always blew doors down. Anyone who saw him live and in person knows what I’m talking about. One of the best times I ever saw him was right here.”
He references attending Foo Fighters’ lead singer Dave Grohl‘s 45th birthday show, before continuing to share a special moment he had with Hawkins.
“Taylor just f*cking tore it apart,” he continued. “I snuck backstage before the show started. I poked my head into Taylor’s dressing room and he was just f*cking practicing as hard as hell. It was a beautiful thing to see, ’cause he was serious, no f*cking around. He really meant it and it was important to him. He didn’t want to do a good show. He wanted to f*cking blow people’s minds. And he did it.”
Black notes that the second time he saw Hawkins at the Kia Forum was when he was in the audience for a Rush show, which led into the band coming out. They played “Working Man” alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, as Rush’s drummer Neil Peart passed away in 2020. Rush also brought out Tool’s Danny Carey for “YYZ.”
Watch Jack Black give a tribute to Taylor Hawkins and introduce Rush above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
