Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, a close friend of Hawkins, had spelled “Taylor” on his bass, surrounded by a hawk-like silhouette on Hawkins’s arm. The Foo Fighters were originally scheduled to star in the Jazz Fest, but canceled all tour dates after Hawkins’s death on March 25. Grohl’s presence in the city over the weekend sparked unfounded rumors that he could show up. That did not happen, but towards the end of the group’s 90-minute set, Smith stepped to the front of the stage, picked up the microphone and said, “We love the Foo Fighters and we love our brother Taylor Hawkins. “It means a lot to us to be able to play for them.” He then led the crowd shouting “We love you, Taylor!” During the set just before the Peppers, Ivan Neville Dumpstaphunk’s band played the Foo Fighters hit “Best of You” as a tribute. Grohl was also at the city’s Preservation Hall on Saturday for the “Midnight Preserves” evening show, during which Who’s Pete Townshend played many songs. Several days before the show, the Peppers called their set a celebration of Hawkins’s life. Smith posted a moving video of the time they were together a few days after Hawkins’s death. “We are taking Alison, his wife, with us and it will be a celebration,” Smith told Billboard. “It simply came to our notice then. He does not want it to be anything other than “Let’s celebrate music, let’s celebrate our friends, let’s celebrate Taylor.” He would like that and he would be very happy that you are playing and he would like it to be nothing more than a positive experience “. So we will do all this and she will be a part of it and she is very honored that we can do this with her. “We will play with our hearts.” The cause of Hawkins’ death has not been officially determined, although medical officials in Colombia, where he died before the group was to appear at a festival, said there were many drugs in his system at the time of his death.
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