Foo Fighters Announce First Show Back - But Who Will Play Drums?

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Foo Fighters have announced their first show back since drummer Taylor Hawkins death last May.

The band, led by frontman Dave Grohl will be headlining the upcoming Boston Calling music festival over Memorial Day weekend. They are joined by Paramore, The Lumineers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Alanis Morisette, The National, Maren Morris and Queens of the Stone Age.

HAWKINS DIED WHILE ON TOUR IN MARCH

The festival announcement comes a little over a week after the band revealed that they would continue on in light of Hawkins' unexpected passing.

In a statement released on New Years Eve, the Foo Fighters opened up to fans about what they were feeling as far as being a band.

"As we say goodbye to the most difficult and tragic year that our band has ever known. We are reminded of how thankful we are for the people that we love and cherish most. And for the loved ones who are no longer with us," the band wrote.

The band then went on to say that they will continue on as a band in Hawkins' memory, saying that "he'll be there in spirit with all of us every night."

Hawkins died unexpectedly while the band was on tour in Colombia last March. Although no cause of death has officially been released, Colombian authorities released preliminary urine toxicology results that indicated he had ten different substances in his system. A Rolling Stone article reported that post-mortem forensics indicated that Hawkins' heart mass was "about double...normal size."

WHO WILL PLAY DRUMS?

Anyone who follows music knows the difficulty it is going to be for the band to replace Hawkins. He was insanely good at the drums. Nearly as important, Hawkins had an energetic charisma second to none as far as drummers go.

When the band did a Tribute show to Hawkins they had various drummers like Travis Barker come out and perform some of their songs.

In a heartfelt moment, Hawkins' 17-year-old son Shane actually came out and performed "My Hero," with the band and absolutely CRUSHED it.

Personally, I'd love to see Shane come out and drum for some of these headlining shows - or if the band does a full U.S. tour this year. Could he do the whole set each and every night? Most likely not, although it would be awesome. Shane is incredibly talented. But he is also still learning and filling in consistently for the Foo Fighters at 17-years-old isn't an easy thing to do.

I hope the band does bring him out for a couple songs every night. It will build up his confidence, and he can show off his passion and talent for drums, and it would be an amazing moment as both fans and the band pay tribute to their late friend.

The band itself hasn't announced who will be playing drums. But this is also the Foo Fighters here - Dave Grohl is friends with EVERYBODY. And some of the best musicians in the world, so they definitely won't have a problem trying to find somebody.

My guess would be Rufus Taylor of The Darkness - who also filled in during the Tribute concert, as the next drummer for the band. He worked great with them during the set and has a long relationship with the rest of the band.

Music is such an important coping mechanism. It's always there no matter what someone is going through. Good for the Foo Fighters for continuing to play songs that inspired a generation of rock fans and more.

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Mike “Gunz” Gunzelman has been involved in the sports and media industry for over a decade. He’s also a risk taker - the first time he ever had sushi was from a Duane Reade in Penn Station in NYC.