Watch Cody Jinks Pay Tribute to Taylor Hawkins With ‘Learn to Fly’

Cody Jinks deviated from his set list of outlaw-country tunes like “I’m Not the Devil” and “Must Be the Whiskey” during his weekend show in Round Rock, Texas, weaving in a Foo Fighters cover to pay tribute to the band’s drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died March 25.

Around the halfway point of his concert at the Round Rock Amp north of Austin, Jinks recalled seeing the Foo Fighters perform in December in Las Vegas. “Taylor was such a big part of their show. It was so much fun getting to watch them play,” Jinks said. “The music world took a big hit with his loss, so if you guys don’t mind, we’re going to do a Foo Fighters song.”

With that, Jinks and his band launched into a faithful cover of “Learn to Fly,” off the Foos’ 1999 album There Is Nothing Left to Lose. Jinks’ voice, which can range from a gravelly growl to a deep croon, was particularly melodic here, but it was the addition of pedal steel to the arrangement that made the cover so remarkable. It was hard rock blended with a key element of classic country.

Hawkins was also on the minds of many at Sunday’s Grammy Awards. Billie Eilish sported a T-shirt with the drummer’s image on it for her performance, and the Recording Academy remembered Hawkins with a brief montage that blended interviews and backstage home movies with live footage, ending in an audience singalong of the group’s “My Hero.”

Jinks, who released the album Mercy last November, returns to the road at the end of the month with an appearance at the Stagecoach Festival in California. He’ll also play the Under the Big Sky Festival in Whitefish, Montana, in July.