Red Hot Chili Peppers paid tribute to late drummer Taylor Hawkins on Sunday by dedicating their set at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to Foo Fighters. Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith gave a speech at the end of the group’s Jazz Fest performance, which was played in front of Foo Fighters band and family members, honoring Hawkins.
Taylor Hawkins tragically died at age 50 on March 25 while Foo Fighters were on tour in South America. Foo Fighters pulled out of their Jazz Fest appearance and canceled all other gigs in the wake of Hawkins’ death. Red Hot Chili Peppers stepped up to fill Foo Fighters’ headlining slot in New Orleans on Sunday.
“We just found out about this two weeks ago because the Foo Fighters were supposed to play here tonight,” Smith told the crowd. “We love the Foo Fighters and we love our brother Taylor Hawkins. So, this means a lot to us to be able to play for them. The guys in the band are here. Taylor’s wife Allison is here, the whole family … it’s a beautiful thing. We love them. We love Taylor. So, on three, I want to hear everybody [shout] ‘We love Taylor!’” The crowd responded with a deafening chant of “We love Taylor!”
Chad Smith continues to honor Hawkins by using a bass drum featuring “Taylor” emblazoned within a hawk in similar fashion to one of Hawkins’ tattoos. Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out the Festival Stage on Sunday at Jazz Fest’s first of two weekends. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival returned to the Fairgrounds this past weekend after two years of postponements and delays due to the pandemic.
Smith and RHCP bandmates vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea and guitarist John Frusciante mixed live staples and five songs from their recently released Unlimited Love LP. The band had a few surprises in store for the crowd in New Orleans as Blood Sugar Sex Magik gem “If You Have To Ask” saw action after five years on the shelf and “The Zephyr Song” was played with Frusciante for the first time since 2004.
Watch Smith’s speech along with multi-cam fan-shot video footage of the full set below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdCPpH4jtka/
Setlist
Red Hot Chili Peppers at Fair Grounds Race Course
- 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
