Taylor Hawkins’ Son Performs Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” in Tribute to Late Father

Taylor Hawkins’ son, Oliver Shane Hawkins, honored his late father over the Fourth of July weekend by joining the band The Alive and playing drums for a cover of the Foo Fighters’ 1997 hit, “My Hero,” at a Laguna Beach block party.

The 16-year-old joined The Alive on July 7 show on a neighborhood rooftop for the performance, which was later posted on TikTok. “When Taylor Hawkins’ son gets on the drums and dedicates the song ‘My Hero’ to his dad,” reads the video caption. “The hawk would’ve been proud.”

The Alive also posted on Instagram to commemorate the moment. “Thanks to the Laguna Beach community, police (for not shutting us down), Spliffriff, and the [Marcus Skendrian] family,” wrote the band. “Special thanks to Shane Hawkins for sitting in.”

Friends of Oliver Hawkins, The Alive previously opened up for a Taylor Hawkins cover band, Chevy Metal, and for the Foo Fighters at Lollapalooza Chile just one week before the drummer’s death. Many of the audience members at The Alive show were also close friends and acquaintances of the late drummer, who grew up in Laguna Beach.

Oliver previously performed live with his father and Dave Grohl for a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” at a Chevy Metal benefit show for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in 2018 when he was just 11 years old.

To honor his memory, Foo Fighters and dozens of special guests, including Brian May and Roger Taylor or Queen, Chrissie Hynde, Josh Homme, Liam Gallagher, Krist Novoselic, Mark Ronson, Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, Pink, Nikki Sixx, Chad Smith, and more will perform during two tribute concerts in September, one in London at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 3 and the second in Los Angeles at the KIA Forum on Sept. 27.

Taylor Hawkins died on March 25, 2023, at the age of 50 while the Foo Fighters were on tour in Bogota, Colombia. He is survived by his wife Alison and their three children Oliver Shane, Annabelle, 13, and Everleigh, 8.  

“Taylor’s endearing spirit and deep love of music will live on forever through the collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created,” wrote Alison in a statement shared on the Foo Fighters’ Instagram page on June 8. “In celebration of his life, it is now up to all of us who loved him most to honor Taylor’s legacy and the music he gave us.” 

Photo by Medios y Media/Getty Images