Red Hot Chili Peppers honour Foo Fighters’ drummer at Jazz Fest

Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

New Orleans’ chief music festival ended its first weekend with the Red Hot Chili Peppers honouring the late Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins by closing the show for his band.

Hawkins died on March 25 and the Foo Fighters bowed out of their slot at Jazz Fest, the first time New Orleans has held the massive festival since Covid-19 cancelled it in 2020 and 2021.