Foo Fighters Enlist Miley Cyrus, Liam Gallagher, Brian May for Taylor Hawkins Tribute Shows

The Foo Fighters have announced the initial slate of guests for their tribute concerts to late drummer Taylor Hawkins in London and Los Angeles.

The lineup for the London gig will boast Liam Gallagher, Josh Homme, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Mark Ronson, Stewart Copeland, Geddy Lee, Roger Taylor, Rufus Taylor, Omar Hakim, Chris Chaney, Wolfgang Van Halen, Supergrass, and Hawkins’ Chevy Metal bandmates. Comedian Dave Chappelle will also be on hand for a special appearance.

Many of those artists will appear at the Los Angeles gig as well, along with Miley Cyrus, Alanis Morissette, Gene Simmons, Nikki Sixx, Chad Smith, Luke Spiller, Jon Theodore, Brad Will, and Pat Wilson. Additional guests for both shows will be announced soon.

The London tribute to Hawkins will be staged on Sept. 3 at Wembley Stadium. The Foo Fighters will then play a second gig on Sept. 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Tickets for both gigs will go on sale June 17 via the Foo Fighters’ website.  

Along with the initial lineup announcement, the Foo Fighters also noted on Instagram that the Hawkins tribute concerts will “benefit charities in the U.K. chosen by the Hawkins family.” Further details will be announced soon.

The London tribute show will mark the first time the Foo Fighters will have taken the stage since Hawkins died on March 25 at the age of 50. At the time, the Foo Fighters were on tour in South America. An official cause of death is still unknown. 

Speaking with Rolling Stone after his death, one of Hawkins’ longtime friends, the guitarist Stevie Salas, spoke about the relentless drive that made him a great drummer. “I believe Taylor wanted to be great so bad, and I believe he never believed he was great,” Salas said. “I believe Taylor would sit down every day and think that he wasn’t good enough, and he would work and work and work at being great. I used to tell him, ‘Dude, you can relax now. Everything’s good.’ But I don’t believe that he ever really did relax and feel great about himself as a musician.”

This story was updated 6/15/22 at 12:22 p.m. ET with the initial lineup for the Los Angeles tribute show.

From Rolling Stone US.