“We’ve been in this band for a long time, we’re really family,” Dave Grohl said at the time Foo Fighters‘ headlining show at Calling Boston. “And our families are with us tonight, because we have to do this together.”
Grohl spoke before playing a solo rendition of “Cold Day in the Sun,” a song he often sang with the latter. Taylor Hawkins. On Wednesday earlier in the week, he dusted off the track for the first time in five years, giving an emotional performance during the Foo Fighters’ warmup show in Gilford, New Hampshire. “I tried to do it last night, and I’m going to try to do it again,” Grohl said on Friday (May 26). “And I’ll do it for Taylor’s family, and I’ll do it for Taylor.”
While he managed to get through it without choking, the emotional sentiment was not very strong. It’s made all the more impactful because right after, Grohl welcomes “one of my favorite drummers in the world,” Hawkins’ son, Shane. The teenage drummer showed off his chops at the time the tribute appeared for his father, but as dramatic like those shows, there’s something uniquely affirming about Shane’s appearance on Boston Calling.
He joined the band for “I’ll Stick Around,” one of the songs he played during the Los Angeles Hawkins tribute. After spending some time adjusting new Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese‘s kit (“Oh my god, there’s a curfew Shane!” Grohl joked as he bragged about missing The National and hearing “the audience go absolutely nuts” for Niall Horan), he slapped the song , even cutting Grohl’s song. introduction. Nodding and making faces like he’s eating notes, young Hawkins destroys the drums like a seasoned pro.
It wouldn’t be surprising if in a few years there was another Hawkins in the permanent Foo Fighters lineup. That’s why his performance was so inspiring — more than playing in memory of his father, he played like he was making a name for himself. It’s hard not to be overshadowed by your parents when they’re as famous and beloved as Taylor Hawkins, but Shane has proven that he can stand up for himself.
And she’s not the only young member of the family to join the Foo Fighters big festival “comeback” appearance: Violet Grohl, Dave’s delicate-voiced daughter, is also on hand. He was introduced before the “Cold Day in the Sun” performance, echoing his father on “Shame Shame” and then sitting on the drum riser for “Rope.” The elder Grohl is known as one of the most energetic and engaging people on the music front; the teenage Grohl didn’t try to match his strength, but just showed him with his vocals.