A hero for everyone.
At a tribute concert for Taylor Hawkins Saturday night in London, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl invited the late drummer’s 16-year-old son, Oliver Shane Hawkins, to play drums while the band performed “My Hero.”
“We have another drummer coming to 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,” the 53-year-old Grohl began.
“But other than that, he’s a member of our family… I think it makes sense that he would come and play with us tonight,” he continued, before saying “Mr. Shane Hawkins’ to loud cheers from the crowd at Wembley Stadium, which reportedly sold out all of its 12,500 seats for the evening.
The talented teenager then took his place on the drums before kicking off the famous 1998 hit, considered by many to be one of the best of the more than 150 songs released by the indie grunge band since 1995.
Simultaneously, photos of Shane and his father appeared on a giant screen behind the band during their emotional performance.
The event — which featured performances from dozens of music legends, including Travis Barker, Liam Gallagher and Mark Ronson — was streamed live.
Many fans took to social media to watch the show while watching, including TikTok user Jacob Givens, who highlighted a particular moment that “broke his heart.”
“It’s so powerful,” he explained, before moving the camera to a clip of Grohl fighting back tears as he sang “Times Like These” at the concert.
As previously reported, Taylor tragically passed away in March at the age of 50. The news prompted the Foo Fighters to cancel all upcoming gigs at the time.
Months later, in June, the band announced that they would be giving two tribute performances: the September 3 show in London, followed by an already sold-out performance in Los Angeles on September 27.