Violet Grohl opens the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert with ‘Hallelujah’ cover
The second and final Taylor Hawkins tribute concert kicked off last night at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
Starting in the best way possible, the first act of the night was Violet Grohl, the daughter of Foo Fighters and Nirvana hero Dave Grohl, who has been showing everyone her credentials as a burgeoning rockstar as of late. Grohl picked a fitting song for the occasion and covered Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ in an emotive rendition accompanied by the acclaimed guitarist Alain Johannes.
Following Violet’s performance, Dave Grohl introduced the evening, saying that it was a chance to “spend some time in [Taylor Hawkins’] musical mind, which could be a pretty terrifying place”. He caveated this, though, and expressed that the evening’s primary purpose was to “celebrate this person that has touched our lives.”
The show was brimming with appearances from Def Leppard members, Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath, Nancy Wilson of Heart, members of Mötley Crüe, Chad Smith, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, Pink, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, and many more.
Interestingly, in a slight departure from the first show at Wembley Stadium in London earlier this month, the event was not live streamed. The funds raised at the Los Angeles show will be sent to the Recording Academy’s MusicCares.
At the London leg of the Tribute Concerts, Shane, Taylor Hawkins’ 16-year-old son, took his place behind the drum kit and blew everyone away when he performed the Foo Fighters classic ‘My Hero’. For many in attendance, this was the highlight of the evening, as he proved that he was just as talented as his late father.
Elsewhere that evening, Violet Grohl delivered three stellar covers, with a duo of Jeff Buckley numbers ‘Grace’ and ‘Last Goodbye’, alongside her father, Johannes, Chris Chaney, Jason Falkner and Greg Kurstin. She then commanded the room with a rousing undertaking of The Zutons’ ‘Valerie’, which the late Amy Winehouse famously popularised.
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