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Foo Fighters Cancel Concerts After Death of Drummer Taylor Hawkins

"His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever," the band says in a statement.

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Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters

Taylor Hawkins in 2021, at the 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cleveland.

 Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Taylor Hawkins, drummer for Foo Fighters, has died, the band said Friday in a statement. He was 50. 

"The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever," the band said in a tweet. "Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time."

The band had been scheduled to perform in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday night and at Lollapalooza Brazil on Sunday, followed by a busy touring schedule for much of 2022.  

On Tuesday, the band announced it was canceling all scheduled concerts.

"It is with great sadness that Foo Fighters confirm the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins," the statement read. "We're sorry for and share in the disappointment that we won't be seeing one another as planned. Instead, let's take this time to grieve, to heal, to pull our loved ones close, and to appreciate all the music and memories we've made together.
With Love,
Foo Fighters."

Fans and other musicians remembered Hawkins on social media.

"God bless you Taylor Hawkins," Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine tweeted, sharing a photo of himself alongside Hawkins and Jane's Addiction vet Perry Farrell. "I loved your spirit and your unstoppable rock power. Rest In Peace my friend."

One person shared a photo of the Bogota location where the band was set to perform. "We all are in front of the place where we should be having a big party right now," the fan wrote. "Some applauded at 11 pm, the time of their show. We all are shocked and devastated."

Before joining Foo Fighters in 1997, Hawkins drummed on two of Alanis Morissette's tours.

Former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl founded Foo Fighters in 1994, after Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain's death. The band has won 12 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.