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Red Hot Chili Peppers will replace Foo Fighters at New Orleans Jazz Festival this weekend, and the band plans to "celebrate" Taylor Hawkins during their set.
“We’re taking Alison, his wife, with us and it’s going to be a celebration,” drummer Chad Smith told Billboard. “That’s what she wants. She doesn’t want it to be anything other than, ‘Let’s celebrate music, let’s celebrate our friends, let’s celebrate Taylor. This is what he would want and he would be very happy that you guys are playing and he would want it [to] be nothing but a positive experience.’”
“So we’re going to do all that and she’s going to be part of that and I’m very honored that we can do that with her," he added. "We’re going to play our hearts out.”
The Foos were poised to play a handful of festivals this year, but after the sudden and unexpected death of Hawkins, the band cancelled all remaining tour dates.
"It is with great sadness that the Foo Fighters confirm the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins," the emotional statement reads. "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."
Nine Inch Nails will replace the Foos at Boston Calling and Welcome to Rockville, and Arcade Fire will play Osheaga Festival in their place.