Red Hot Chili Peppers pay tribute to Taylor Hawkins at Jazz Fest

Red Hot Chili Peppers paid tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins at Jazz Fest in New Orleans on Sunday.

The Best of You hitmakers had been scheduled to headline the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival but they cancelled all of their tour dates following their drummer Taylor’s death on 25 March.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers stepped in to replace them and made sure to honour Taylor during their set.

The band’s drummer Chad Smith had “Taylor” written on his bass drum, surrounded by a hawk silhouette similar to the tattoo Taylor had on his arm.

At one point, Chad addressed the crowd and revealed Taylor’s wife Alison and bandmate Dave Grohl were watching from the wings.

“We just found out about this two weeks ago, because Foo Fighters were supposed to play here tonight,” he said, according to videos posted on social media. “We love Foo Fighters, and we love our brother Taylor Hawkins. This means a lot to us to be able to play for them.

“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.”

He then led the crowd in a chant: “We love you, Taylor!”

Chad told Billboard days before the performance that it would be a celebration of Taylor’s life, as per Alison’s wishes.

“She doesn’t want it to be anything other than, ‘Let’s celebrate music, let’s celebrate our friends, let’s celebrate Taylor. 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,'” he explained. “So we’re going to do all that and she’s going to be part of that and I’m very honoured that we can do that with her.”

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Written by Mr. Nimbus