Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sammy Hagar had daunting tasks over the weekend: Filling in for the Foo Fighters at two festivals after the band pulled out of their performances following the sudden death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.
The Chili Peppers filled in for the Foos at the New Orleans Jazz Fest yesterday (May 1), and their set concluded with drummer Chad Smith addressing the crowd.
“We just found out about this two weeks ago, because Foo Fighters were supposed to play here tonight,” began Smith. “We love the Foo Fighters, and we love our brother Taylor Hawkins.”
Smith continued, “So, this means a lot to us to be able to play for them. The guys in the band are here…Taylor’s wife, Alison, is here. We love them, and we love Taylor.” The Chili Peppers drummer then led the crowd in a “We love you, Taylor” chant.
Meanwhile, Hagar and his band The Circle filled in for the Foos at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis on Friday, April 29 where they covered the band’s hit “My Hero.”
Hagar shared via Twitter, “When we were asked by the promoter to fill in for the Foo Fighters at the Beale Street Music Festival, my first reaction was ‘No f—ing way!’ We discussed it as a band, & we came up with ‘Why not! Let’s just go play music and you’re at a big ass Circle party for those people, just do what we do!’”
He continued, “Then with Dave Grohl’s blessings we decided to do a broken down version of one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands. No rehearsal. After all this is rock ‘n’ roll and that’s what it’s all about. Enjoy.”
