Skate legend Tony Hawk has penned a touching tribute to Nirvana and their late frontman Kurt Cobain.
Hawk, whose son Riley is married to Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean, recently took to Instagram Stories to share a picture of a ticket to a Nirvana show at the Vatican in Houston, Texas on October 20, 1991.
He calls the concert “transformative” and says he wished Kurt could have held his and Tony’s recently born grandson, Ronin Walker Cobain Hawk.
“Went straight from an S.U.A.S. [Shut Up And Skate] event at Houston Skatepark to this concert in 1991,” Hawk writes. “It was as transformative as live music can possibly be; we all experienced something rare and powerful that night. The world would never be the same.”
He continues: “I wish Kurt were here so he could see the incredible woman his daughter has become; meet her caring, devoted husband; and hold our wondrous grandchild.”
Riley and Frances Bean married in a Los Angeles ceremony on October 7, 2023. R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Frances Bean’s godfather, officiated.
The couple welcomed Riley on September 17, 2024, with Frances Bean announcing the birth on Instagram 12 days later. “Welcome to the world most beautiful son,” she wrote. “We love you more than anything.”
Last week, Tony posted a photo of himself and Ronin on a skateboard together. “What happens when all of your kids can skate on their own and no longer rely on you to give them rides?” he wrote. “You wait until they have their own kids. Circles (wheels?) of life.”
Kurt died at the age of 27 on April 5, 1994, and Nirvana disbanded shortly after. However, surviving members Krist Novoselic (bass), Pat Smear (guitars) and Dave Grohl (drums) have performed together since, most recently for a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live where pop superstar Post Malone handled vocals and guitar.
