The Foo Fighters perform at their Rock and Roll Induction Ceremony Michael Zorn/Shutterstock
A new chapter. The Foo Fighters are releasing their first album since drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death.
The band announced via Instagram on Wednesday, April 19, that their 11th album, titled But Here We Are, is coming out later this year.
“This Is Happening Now. Listen to ‘Rescued.’ From the Album ‘But Here We Are.’ Available June 2. Pre-order link in bio,” read the post, which linked to the first single from the upcoming record.
Band members Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee and Pat Smear did not reveal who was playing the drums on the new track. According to a press release, But Here We Are is a “brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year.” It will also serve as a “testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family.”
News of the latest Foo Fighters project comes more than one year after Hawkins died at age 50. The Texas native was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia, in March 2022 while on tour with the rock band.
At the time, Colombian officials revealed that Hawkins had 10 drugs in his system, including opioids, marijuana and antidepressants. An official cause of death has has not been made public.
Taylor Hawkins Ibl/Shutterstock
The Foo Fighters addressed the “tragic and untimely loss” in a March 2022 statement, writing via Instagram, “[Taylor’s] musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”
Two months after the Grammy winner’s passing, his wife, Alison Hawkins, broke her silence in an emotional tribute. She shared kids Oliver, Annabelle and Everleigh with Taylor, whom she wed in 2005.
“As Taylor’s wife, and on behalf of our children, I want to share how much you meant to him and how dedicated he was to ‘knocking your socks off’ during every performance. Taylor was honored to be a part of the Foo Fighters and valued his dream role in the band every minute of his 25 years with them. We considered every band member and the extended Foo Fighters team our family,” the 48-year-old wrote in May 2022. “Taylor’s endearing spirit and deep love of music will live on forever through the collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created.”
Taylor originally joined the Foo Fighters in 1997 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside his band members in 2021.
In September 2022, Grohl, 54, broke down in tears during an emotional performance of the 2002 hit “Times Like These” at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute concert in London. “It’s times like these you give and give again,” he tried to sing as his voice broke. Grohl briefly paused to wipe tears off his face before finishing the song.
