Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert was a heavy affair, and not even seasoned professional Stewart Copeland was immune to getting emotional. The Police drummer, who performed at the event, reflected on the evening in an interview with CBS This Morning, where he particularly gushed about watching Hawkins’ son, Shane, sit in behind the kit with his father’s band.
“I started crying,” Copeland said. “He’s got it. He’s got such power, enthusiasm. He’s got his father’s stance, musical language. That was really emotional to see young Shane up there.” Watch the full clip below.
16-year-old Shane Hawkins joined Foo Fighters for the penultimate song of the six-hour evening, playing drums for the classic “My Hero.” The circumstances alone made it an incredible — if not difficult to watch — sight, but the young drummer’s talent, combined with the song’s subject matter, made it the perfect cap to a tribute show brimming with love.
Earlier in the evening, Dave Chappelle spoke about Taylor Hawkins and shared an anecdote about the time he met Shane backstage at a past Foo Fighters concert. “I met a kid, who must have been 12 or 13 years old, and I asked him, cause he had skate shoes on, if he skated. And he said, ‘I don’t skate because I don’t want to hurt my arm.’ And I said what kind of answer is that? A simple yes or no would have sufficed. The kid said, ‘I want to be a drummer, like my father.’” That night, without a doubt, Shane did his father proud.
Shane Hawkins, superstar drummer Nandi Bushell, and Dave Grohl’s eldest child, Violet, stole the show at the Hawkins tribute, proving that the younger generation has no shortage of rockstar energy. Of course, rock’s elders held their own as well, with Copeland, one of Hawkins’ idols, joining Foo Fighters for covers of “Next to You” and “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” Trent Reznor was also moved by the event, telling a recent Nine Inch Nails crowd that he watched hours of the show with “tears in my fucking eyes.” Revisit the tribute’s mammoth 50-song setlist here.
