Some of the biggest names in music will come together this weekend for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert.
The late Foo Fighters drummer, who tragically died in March this year, will be remembered in true rock and roll style – with a night of live music.
The all-star concerts have been organised by Hawkins’ bandmates, including frontman Dave Grohl, as well as his bereaved family.
Two shows are set to take place – one at London’s Wembley Arena, and another in Los Angeles.
Famous faces taking to the stage to honour the rock legend will include Liam Gallagher, Brian May, Mark Ronson and Supergrass, to name a few.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Foo Fighters themselves will also be performing on what’s set to be an emotional night.
The band cancelled all tour dates, including a date in Manchester, in the wake of Hawkins’ death, so this weekend will be a rare chance to see them perform again.
ADVERTISEMENT
Here’s how you can watch the show from Manchester.
How to watch the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert
Although the actual gig is taking place down in London, Foo Fighters and the Hawkins family have arranged for it to be live-streamed across the planet.
The gig will begin at 4.30pm on Saturday 3 September.
ADVERTISEMENT
You’ll be able to watch it live through the MTV YouTube channel below when the concert starts.
MTV will also air a one-hour special across its channels around the world starting on Sunday 4 September.
Who’s headlining?
As one of the most famous and respected musicians in the industry, Taylor Hawkins and his Foo Fighters bandmates aren’t short of famous friends wanting to pay their respects.
It’s led to a bumper bill of rock royalty, who will perform alongside Foo Fighters at Wembley.
In alphabetical order, this is who you’ll see on stage on Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Travis Barker (Blink-182)
Nandi Bushell
Martin Chambers (The Pretenders)
Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction)
Chevy Metal
Stewart Copeland (The Police)
Josh Freese
Liam Gallagher
Violet Grohl
Omar Hakim
Justin Hawkins (The Darkness)
Shane Hawkins
Joshua Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age)
Chrissie Hynde
James Gang
Alain Johannes
Brian Johnson (AC/DC)
John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)
Kesha
Greg Kurstin
Geddy Lee (Rush)
Alex Lifeson (Rush)
Brian May (Queen)
Krist Novoselic (Nirvana)
Nile Rodgers
Mark Ronson
Luke Spiller (The Struts)
Supergrass
Roger Taylor (Queen)
Rufus Taylor (The Darkness)
Lars Ulrich (Metallica)
Wolfgang Van Halen
Plus a special guest appearance from Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock
The charities the concert will support
The gigs have been created to raise money for Music Support and MusiCares, as well as to honour the late Taylor Hawkins.
Music Support is a charity that provides help and support for those who work in music and live events affected by mental ill-health and/or addiction.
MusiCares’ website states that they ‘help the humans behind music because music gives so much to this world’.
The charity provides critical health and welfare services to the music community in three key areas: mental health and addiction recovery services, health services and human services.
All merchandise sold will also benefit the two charities.
ADVERTISEMENT
What Taylor Hawkins’ loved ones say
A statement from Foo Fighters said: “As one of the most respected and beloved figures in modern music, Taylor’s monolithic talent and magnetic personality endeared him to millions of fans, peers, friends and fellow musical legends the world over.
“Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolized.
“The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon.”
A statement from the Hawkins family said: “As Taylor’s wife, and on behalf of our children, I want to share how much you meant to him and how dedicated he was to ‘knocking your socks off’ during every performance.
“Taylor was honored to be a part of the Foo Fighters and valued his dream role in the band every minute of his 25 years with them. We consider every band member and the extended Foo Fighters team our family.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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.
“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.
“Thank you all again for your love and sympathy. Taylor loved all of you & we love you too. With gratitude, Alison Hawkins.”
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons
Audio
Manchester’s Co-op Live arena postpones The Black Keys and Peter Kay (again)
Daisy Jackson
The Co-op Live has announced it is postponing both The Black Keys gig and Peter Kay’s performance.
Both shows were set to take place this week as the huge arena finally opens in Manchester.
Co-op Live went ahead with a test event with Rick Astley last Saturday, albeit with a capacity that was reduced at the eleventh hour.
But the huge venue was hit with ‘power supply issues’ and took the ‘difficult decision’ to postpone Peter Kay.
It’s now gone one step further and pushed back The Black Keys – meant to be their first proper live music event – as well as Peter Kay AGAIN.
In a statement shared today, the Co-op Live said it has been ‘undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans’.
It said that the shows are being rescheduled to ensure they can ‘run safely’.
The 23,500-capacity arena said this will give them ‘the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly’.
The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May, and Peter Kay on 23 and 24 May.
As for the Bolton-born comedian, he sounds somewhat in disbelief himself:
Co-op Live’s statement reads: “Since making the difficult decision to postpone the live shows at Co-op Live due to take place this week, we have been undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans.
“To ensure that we can run all shows safely, regretfully we have now had to take the decision to reschedule the planned The Black Keys and Peter Kay shows.
“Both The Black Keys and Peter Kay have graciously agreed to reschedule their shows. The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May 2024, and Peter Kay will now perform on 23 and 24 May 2024.
“All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend.
“We deeply appreciate the impact this will have on excited fans, and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause.
“Rescheduling Peter Kay and The Black Keys will give us the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly.
“This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size to ensure that our fans, artists and staff have the safest experience possible.”
Co-op Live boss resigns just days before venue’s official opening
Daisy Jackson
The boss of Co-op Live, Manchester’s enormous, ground-breaking new arena, has resigned from his position just days before the venue is set to open.
The enormous music-first arena has been taking shape beside the Etihad Stadium for several years, and was due to welcome its first official audiences this week, but has been hit with last-minute challenges.
And now Co-op Live‘s boss Gary Roden has quit the mammoth project, with the news of his resignation announced late Thursday evening.
Oak View Group, which Co-op Live is part of, said in a statement that they would like to ‘thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans’.
Stepping into his shoes as interim general manager will be Rebecca Kane Burton, who previously ran the U.K.’s highest-grossing venue, London’s The O2 arena.
Gary has previously come under fire for saying that some grassroots music venues ‘poorly run’ – a statement that OVG has now distanced itself from.
A separate statement said that ‘neither Co-op Live nor Oak View Group share the sentiment expressed by former Co-op Live General Manager Gary Roden regarding the grassroots industry’.
It continued: “As OVG Chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke has repeatedly stated, Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond, including teaming up with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on the Artist of the Month campaign, and as a founding partner of Beyond The Music.
“Co-op Live also donates over £1m a year to the Co-op Foundation to support communities and empower young people to take social action through its new Young Gamechangers fund.
“Oak View Group and Co-op Live remain happy to meet with grassroots organisations once the venue is fully operational.”
The news of the venue’s boss stepping down comes at a time when all eyes are on Co-op Live, the opening of which has been delayed.
The venue did host a test event with Rick Astley last weekend, but even that faced difficulties, with thousands of tickets cancelled to reduce capacity just hours before showtime.
It’s now set to officially open this Saturday 27 April with a performance by rock group The Black Keys.
The full statement from OVG about Gary’s resignation said: “Gary Roden has decided to resign. We’d like to thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future.
“Rebecca Kane Burton has been named Interim GM, effective today. Rebecca is a seasoned veteran of venue management and live entertainment in the UK having served as VP/GM of The O2 from 2012-2016 and CEO of LW Theatres from 2016-2021.