Wolfgang Van Halen, son of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, tore up the stage during his performance alongside Dave Grohl at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert.
Chief amongst the 31-year-old’s admirers was his mother, who tweeted to say that her son had “KILLED IT” during the show at Wembley Stadium, London at the weekend.
The concert was the first of two to honor Taylor Hawkins, the late Foo Fighters drummer who passed away earlier this year, March 25, in Bogota, Colombia.
A litany of stars, including Travis Barker, Queen’s Roger Taylor, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and Nirvana’s Krist Novoseli took the stage on Saturday night, but there were also appearances from the aforementioned Wolfgang Van Halen and Taylor Hawkins’ own son, Shane.
Wolfgang played On Fire from his late father’s debut album, as well as Hot For Teacher. If social media reviews are anything to go by, he absolutely crushed his moment in the spotlight.
Wolfie’s mom (and Eddie Van Halen’s former partner) Valerie Bertinelli, wrote on Twitter: “WOLFIE KILLED IT. So proud of you @WolfVanHalen.”
A press release for the concerts – the second of which will take place in Los Angeles on September 27 – explained that the aim is to “unite several” artists whom Hawkins idolized, along with “the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon.
“His bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.”
Perhaps the moment that most pulled on the heart strings was when Taylor’s teenage son, Shane, got behind the drums to perform “My Hero”.
Indeed, many a tear was shed in the audience, while former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl’s voice cracked as he spoke.
The Foo Fighters were in the midst of a tour of South America in March, 2022 when Hawkins, 50, died in Bogotá, Colombia.
The preliminary results of the urine toxicology test shared by the Attorney General’s Office in Colombia in a press release on Twitter, indicated “the presence of 10 different substances: THC (Marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids, among others.”
Needless to say, the two concerts to honor Taylor’s memory want for nothing in terms of star power. A raft of rock legends turned out for Saturday’s concert at Wembley, while the show in LA later this month will feature the likes of Miley Cyrus, Liam Gallagher, Joan Jett, Mark Ronson, members of Queen, The Police, Rush, Kiss, The Pretenders, Motley Crue, Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Supergrass.
Rest in peace, Taylor Hawkins!
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