Red Hot Chili Peppers Pay Tribute to Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins at New Orleans Jazz Fest

The Red Hot Chili Peppers paid tribute to Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who died just over a month ago, at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday

The Foo Fighters were originally scheduled to headline the event, but RHCP stepped in to replace the band, which canceled their upcoming tour dates after Hawkins died.

Smith had previously said that his band was planning to honor Hawkins during their performance. For his part, Smith’s bass drum had the word “Taylor” spelled out inside a hawk that resembled the hawk tattoo Hawkins had on his arm.

According to video posted online, Smith also told the crowd: “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.”

He said Hawkins’ widow, Alison, was in attendance, along with members of the Foo Fighters, which reportedly included Dave Grohl, before leading the the crowd in a chant: “We love you, Taylor!”

Smith previously talked to Billboard about the band’s planned tribute to Hawkins.

“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.”

Hawkins died March 25 at age 50. The band announced his death on its Twitter account, writing: “The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with us forever.”