Dave Grohl’s daughter covered two Jeff Buckley songs in tribute to Taylor Hawkins at the special memorial concert that is taking place at Wembley Stadium today (September 3).
The star-studded line-up boasts performances from Liam Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Supergrass, Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, Blink-182’s Travis Barker, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Kesha, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and more.
Before the special appearance from his daughter, Grohl spoke about Hawkins’ unrivalled passion for music. “So over the years, Taylor Hawkins turned me onto so much music,” he said. “He was a musicologist, he knew more about music than anyone I’ve ever met in my life.
“He constantly turned me onto albums I’d never heard before. One of them was Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’, which is a classic album. So tonight, seeing as we’re honouring the music that Taylor loved, we’re gonna play a couple of songs from Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’.”
Dave looking like such a proud dad while Violet slays singing Grace by Jeff Buckley <3 #taylorhawkinstribute pic.twitter.com/F81qc0ehnu
— lol ♡ taylor hawkins 4ever 🦅 (@l0stangeIes) September 3, 2022
Grohl then introduced a band that included himself on drums, Queens Of The Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures’ Alain Johannes, guitarist Jason Falkner, Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney, and his daughter Violet. The Foo Fighters leader described the latter as “the only person I know who can actually sing a Jeff Buckley song”.
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The 16-year-old took to the stage with the veteran musicians, taking on vocals for versions of ‘Last Goodbye’ and ‘Grace’. Watch footage of her performance around the -1.55.29 mark above now.
The Taylor Hawkins tribute concert is available to livestream on MTV’s YouTube channel globally and Paramount+ in the US. A second tribute show will take place at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on September 27.
Grohl and Hawkins’ Foo Fighter bandmates opened the concert today with an emotional speech that paid tribute to their late drummer. “For those of you who knew him personally, you know that no one else could make you smile, or laugh, or dance, or sing like he could,” the frontman said.
Comedian Dave Chappelle also recalled spending time with the rock star and his son in New York. “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 fucking dad,” he said. “Taylor Hawkins is a legend of a man, he’s a legend of a musician and he’s a legend of a father.”
Liam Gallagher kicked off the live music today, performing two Oasis songs with the help of the surviving members of Foo Fighters, while Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith shared a heartwarming story about Hawkins in a special video message.
Hawkins, who drummed with Foo Fighters from 1997 alongside performing in bands like Chevy Metal and Taylor Hawkins And The Coattail Riders, died in March 2022. He was 50 years old.