Chili Peppers Honor Taylor Hawkins at Jazz Fest: “We Love the Foo Fighters, & We Love Our Brother Taylor Hawkins”

On Sunday night, the Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, filling a headliner void left by Foo Fighters after Dave Grohl and his grieving band mates canceled all future performances in the wake of the shocking death of drummer Taylor Hawkins on March 25.

Over the years, both bands formed a strong kinship as leaders of the mainstream alt/rock scene, with Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Hawkins becoming fast friends in addition to colleagues behind the drum kit. Leading up to the Jazz Fest performance, Smith said the Chilis would be dedicating part of their set in Hawkins’ memory.

Smith’s bass drum featured a hawk outline with the word “Taylor” written on it, an homage to a tattoo Hawkins had on his arm, and Smith also took the stage with a microphone to address the crowd and encourage a “WE LOVE YOU TAYLOR” cheer from the gathered masses. Smith also mentioned that members of Foo Fighters, which reportedly included Grohl, as well as Hawkins’ widow, Alison, were in attendance.

“We love the Foo Fighters, and we love our brother Taylor Hawkins. This means a lot to us to be able to play for them.”

Leading up to Jazz Fest, Smith told Billboard of his band’s plans to honor the alter drummer:

“We’re taking Alison, his wife, with us and it’s going to be a celebration,” he said. “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. This is what he would want and he would be very happy that you guys are playing and he would want it 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.”

As for the Chili Peppers’ performance, it was their first festival appearance with guitarist John Frusciante back in the mix, and featured several songs from the band’s new album, Unlimited Love, as well as selections from their lengthy catalog. If it’s a preview of the Chili Peppers’ upcoming global world tour, fans are in for a solid arrangement of hits, classics and fan favorites.

Intro Jam
Can’t Stop
Black Summer
Charlie
The Zephyr Song
Aquatic Mouth Dance
Snow ((Hey Oh))
Nobody Weird Like Me
Whatchu Thinkin’
If You Have to Ask
Tell Me Baby
Here Ever After
Californication
These Are the Ways
Give It Away

Encore:
Under the Bridge
By the Way