Taylor Hawkins’ son Shane wins award for drum performance at tribute concert

4 February, 2023

Foo Fighters with Shane Hawkins

Taylor Hawkins‘ 16-year-old son Shane has won a prestigious drumming award for his performance of the Foo Fighters song ‘My Hero’.

Shane’s turn behind the kit was considered one of the standout moments of the concert held for his father in Wembley Stadium last September. In recognition of his performance, the Drumeo Awards gave him the coveted prize of Drum Performance of the Year.

Explaining why Shane won the prestigious honour, Drumeo wrote: ‘The winner of this award put on a legendary, must-watch performance during 2022, either with a full band at an event or in a solo studio video.

“16-year-old Shane Hawkins did just that, pouring his heart and soul into a live performance of ‘My Hero’ at a tribute concert dedicated to his late father and Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

“It touched millions of people and showed how much love, energy, and spirit can come out on the drum kit.”

In NME’s Big Read story about the concert, we said: “Shane was focused and phenomenal, hitting the skins with such vigour he snapped a stick but carried on regardless. Understandably, clips of his passionate performance have been watched online millions of times since; it walked the line perfectly between tragic, bittersweet and triumphant.”

Meanwhile, Mark Ronson told NME of his inclusion in the show: “The spirit of it felt lovely and appropriate, but what’s amazing is that they really did own it. It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, isn’t this sweet. The kids are onstage’. I’ve watched that video of Shane at least 15 times since Saturday.”

Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland said that he “started crying” when he saw Shane perform in rehearsals. “He’s got it. He’s got such power, enthusiasm. He’s got his father’s stance, musical language. That was really emotional to see young Shane up there.”

Hawkins was found dead in a hotel room in Colombia while on tour with Foo Fighters in March 2022. He was 50 years old.

The band confirmed on New Years Day that they would be carrying on without Hawkins. “Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were – and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward,” they said.

The band have several European and US festival slots booked. Last week, they confirmed they would be replacing Pantera at German festivals Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park.

The post Taylor Hawkins’ son Shane wins award for drum performance at tribute concert appeared first on NME.