Foo Fighters' drummer, Taylor Hawkins, dies at 50

Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the alternative rock band The Foo Fighters, has passed away at the age of 50 on March 25.

On Friday, Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room in the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina in Bogota, Colombia, which police are speculating may be tied to drug ingestion, though currently no cause of death is confirmed. 

In 2001, the drummer notably overdosed on heroin, putting him in a weeklong coma. Since, he has opened up on multiple occasions about his history with drug usage, and his growth to improve his life surrounding such in recent years.  

The rest of the band took to social media, where they wrote, “The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever,” and requested respect for Hawkins’ family in their mourning. 

The Foo Fighters have a history of 12 Grammy’s and seven albums at the platinum level. They have released 11 albums since Hawkins joined the group in 1997.  

Currently, the band is on the lineup for Lollapalooza’s international dates, with their most recent performance being that in Argentina just five days prior to the drummer’s death. 

They are supposed to headline the Brazil festival on Sunday, March 27, as well as the start of a large U.S. tour in May, though no updates on the continuation of their performances has been provided.