Taylor Hawkins, longtime drummer for the band Foo Fighters, died Friday while on tour with the band in Colombia. He was 50 years old. The band announced Hawkins’s death via social media.

Known for his active and aggressive drumming style, Hawkins — with his flowing, flailing long hair and his teeth clenched in a cross between a grimace and a grin — brought joy to the kit and undeniable energy to any Foo Fighters performance. Among Hawkins’s influences were Ringo Starr, Phil Collins and the late Neil Peart of Rush. Although born in Texas, Hawkins grew up in Long Beach, California; his style and demeanor always exuded a sort of laid-back California cool.

Hawkins’s first big-time drumming gig was for Alanis Morissette; although he did not perform on the album, Hawkins was the touring drummer on Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill tour.

In 1997, after previous Foo Fighters drummer William Goldsmith left the band, frontman Dave Grohl was phoning around looking for recommendations for replacements. One of the people Grohl contacted was Hawkins, who offered his own services. Hawkins has performed on all eight Foo Fighters’ albums released since 1999, including the most recent album, 2021’s Medicine at Midnight, the band’s tenth studio full-length. In addition to drumming, Hawkins also lent his talents to singing, guitar, piano and production work in studio.

Foo Fighters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, and in February 2022, they released Studio 666, a rock-and-roll horror-comedy film starring the band.

Hawkins is survived by his wife, Alison, and their three children.

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