Valerie Bertinelli Praises Wolfgang Van Halen’s Performance With Dave Grohl at Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert

The reviews are in, and Wolfgang Van Halen “killed it” during his performance with Dave Grohl at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert.

The succinct analysis comes from none other than Wolfie’s mom Valerie Bertinelli, who took to Twitter on Saturday and subtweeted a video showing Wolfgang rocking out onstage at Wembley Stadium in London. Bertinelli wrote, “WOLFIE KILLED IT. So proud of you @WolfVanHalen.”

The tribute concert — the first of two, with the second one slated for Sept. 27 in Los Angeles — featured an all-star lineup that included Travis Barker, Queen’s Roger Taylor, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic and many more.

For those who couldn’t catch MTV’s live stream can tune in to CBS on Saturday night at 10 p.m. EST, when a one-hour primetime special is set to air. The special will feature highlights from the show in London. Additionally, the shows will benefit charities in both the UK and the US chosen by the Hawkins family. 

There were some pretty emotional moments, like when Grohl’s voice cracked while paying tribute to his late bandmate. But the real moment that tugged at the heart strings came when Hawkins’ 16-year-old son, Shane, got behind the drums and deftly performed “My Hero.” 

The shows aim to “unite several” artists whom Hawkins idolized along with “the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon,” a press release for the concerts read. “His bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.”

The Foo Fighters will be joined in Los Angeles by Miley Cyrus, Liam Gallagher, Joan Jett, Mark Ronson, members of Queen, The Police, Rush, Kiss, The Pretenders, Motley Crue, Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Supergrass. 

The band was in the midst of a South American tour back in March when Hawkins died in Bogotá, Colombia, where they were set to headline the Festival Estereo Picnic. He was 50. The Attorney General’s Office in Colombia later shared the preliminary results of the urine toxicology test in a press release on Twitter, stating it indicates “the presence of 10 different substances: THC (Marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids, among others.”

Last weekend, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were presented with the Global Icon Award at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards and they dedicated the prestigious award to Hawkins.

While accepting the award, drummer Chad Smith took the mic and delivered a heartfelt tribute.

“There is another musical icon, global icon, and his name is my brother, Taylor Hawkins. And I want to dedicate this to Taylor and his family,” Smith said. “I love him and I miss him every day. Play on, Hawk, play on.”

 

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