The Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their great honor to the late Taylor Hawkins at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night.
“There is another musical icon, a global icon – his name is my brother Taylor Hawkins,” said Chad Smith as he accepted the Global Icon Award. “I want to dedicate this to Taylor and his family. I love them and I miss him every day. Fly on, Hawk. Fly on, brother.”
The band also featured Hawkins’ name on a drum kit during their performance, written in the middle of a flying hawk.
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The Foo Fighters drummer was found dead in a hotel room in Colombia in March. He was 50.
“His musical spirit and infectious laugh will stay with us forever,” the band wrote in a social media announcement.
Days later, a report from the South American country said authorities discovered multiple drugs in Hawkins’ hotel room.
Hawkins’ widow, Alison Hawkins, publicly addressed his untimely passing months later to thank fans for their unwavering support.
“My deepest thanks and admiration go to the global Foo Fighters community and Taylor’s fans far and wide for the outpouring of love you all showed our beloved Taylor,” she wrote via Instagram.
“Your kindness has been an invaluable comfort to my family and me at this time of unimaginable grief.”
Alison concluded her emotional message by writing that Taylor’s “endearing spirit and deep love of music” would live on forever – “through the collaborations he loved with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created. .”
The Hawkins family also announced that the Foo Fighters would honor Taylor with two special tribute concerts to be held in September.
The first show kicks off on September 3 at Wembley Stadium in London, followed by a second show on September 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
Alison and Taylor shared three children: Oliver, 16, Annabelle, 13, and Everleigh, 8.