Honoring his dad. Shane Hawkins performed “My Hero” alongside Foo Fighters to honor his late father, Taylor Hawkins.
The 16-year-old joined his dad’s bandmates for the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert on Saturday, September 3, at Wembley Stadium in London. Dave Grohl introduced him toward the end of the night as one of many guest drummers filling in for the musician, who died in March at age 50 in Bogotá, Colombia.
“We have one more drummer that’s going to come up and play with us tonight. Let me tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone hit the drums as hard as this person,” Grohl, 53, told the packed stadium during the show, which was broadcast on Paramount+. “But beyond that, he’s a member of our family, and he needs to be here tonight with all of us. I think it makes sense that he’s going to come up and play with us tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome, Mr. Shane Hawkins on the drums.”
The teen kicked off the song, which was the band’s 1997 hit “My Hero.”
Taylor shared son Shane (born Oliver Shane Hawkins) as well as daughters Annabelle and Everleigh with wife Alison Hawkins.
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Various drummers stepped in for the late musician during Foo Fighters’ songs. Travis Barker played during “Monkey Wrench” and “The Pretender. Rufus Taylor (son of Queen’s Roger Taylor) was behind the kit for “These Days,” and viral 12-year-old drummer Nandi Bushnell jammed with the band for “Learn to Fly.”
Earlier in the night, Dave Chappelle took the stage to recount hosting Saturday Night Live in November 2020, when Hawkins and the band served as musical guests. He was later invited to their show at Madison Square Garden.
“After the show I went backstage and hung out with the Foo Fighters, and I met a kid who must have been 12 or 13 years old,” Chappelle, 49, explained. He met Shane and asked if he was a skater.
“He said, ‘I don’t skateboard cos I don’t wanna hurt my arms’,” the Washington, D.C. native said. “I said, ‘What the f–k kind of answer’s this? A simple yes or no would have sufficed.’ The kid said, ‘I wanna be a drummer, like my father.’”
It was a revelatory experience for the comic. He continued: “In that room in Madison Square Garden, even though I had met the Foo Fighters many nights, I felt like I met them for the first time. I’ve seen Taylor be a rock star many nights but it was my first time seeing him be a dad, and what a cool f–king dad. It was the first time that Dave Grohl and I ever even mentioned the name Kurt Cobain. It was the first time we ever even talked about our love of jazz and go-go music and Taylor’s son Shane was soaking it all in. He sat there, he asked the best questions – not about fame, always about art.”
Taylor Hawkins with an inset of his son Oliver Shane Hawkins. Shutterstock; Courtesy of Shane Hawkins/Instagram
Chappelle went with the band and Shane to New York City’s famed jazz club The Blue Note and watched musician Robert Glasper perform. “I listened to Taylor and his son the whole show talk about the drummer,” he recalled. “I remember Shane, Taylor’s son, say to his father as he was listening, ‘Dad you can’t do that s–t.’ I’d never heard someone talk to a rock star that way. And Taylor Hawkins, as humble as is, said, ‘Son, those are real musicians.’”
The comedian concluded: “Taylor Hawkins is a legend of a man, he’s a legend of a musician and he’s a legend of a father and Shane, I’m very proud ’cause I saw you play for your father.”
Chappelle was far from the only one singing Shane’s praises. Barker, 46, shared clips from the tribute via his Instagram story on Sunday evening. “Oh, my God,” he says in a video taken from backstage while Shane took the stage.
Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan wrote via Instagram, “Shane….you floored us all at yesterday’s show. We watched from here in Brazil…F#CK dude! Shredded it!”
Questlove posted a clip on social media, captioned, “Wow Man. Great Job Shane.”
“This is so so beautiful,” Sophia Bush wrote via her Instagram Story. “Absolutely stunning.”
“So incredible,” Jxdn (born Jaden Hossler) commented via MTV’s Instagram post.
John Legend and Selling Sunset‘s Chrishell Stause both commented on different posts with several crying emojis. Tears were abound. “And cue the weeping at 6 am,” Mandy Moore shared via her Instagram Story on Sunday.
The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert is available to watch on Paramount+ in its entirety, coming in at just over six hours long. There will be a second tribute show in Los Angeles on September 27.
Ticket and merchandise sales will benefit Music Support and MusiCares. Both charities were chosen by the Hawkins family.