Foo Fighters cancel tour after Taylor Hawkins death

NEW YORK

Foo Fighters on March 29 announced the cancellation of all scheduled tour dates “in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins.”

Hawkins, the 50-year-old drummer for the Grammy award-winning rock group, died over the weekend in a hotel in Bogota shortly before the band was set to perform at the Festival Estereo Picnic on the city’s outskirts.

In its statement posted to social media, Foo Fighters said “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 appreciate all the music and memories we’ve made together.”

It is unclear whether any members of Foo Fighters, the group founded by lead singer and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, will still attend Sunday’s Grammys, where they had been slated to perform.

The band is nominated for three awards, Best Rock Album, Best Rock Performance, and Best Rock Song at the upcoming gala.

Preliminary toxicology tests found that Hawkins had drugs including opioids in his system before he died, but Colombian investigators did not specify whether the mix caused his death.

As part of one of the world’s most influential and critically lauded alternative rock bands, Hawkins was known for his on-stage charisma and classic rock-inspired beats, which he once said were influenced by legends like Phil Collins and Queen’s Roger Taylor.

Foo Fighters celebrated their 25th anniversary last year on a pandemic-delayed tour and had most recently produced “Studio 666,” a rock-and-roll horror movie.