Kim Thayil of Soundgarden and Mike McCready perform during halftime in the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots
(Image credit: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Yesterday (September 9), Soundgarden made their highly anticipated comeback during the Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots game at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready joined the band on vocals and guitar, respectively, for the one-off performance, which featured a medley of Outshined and Spoonman. The latter was a significant addition to the two-song setlist, considering it hadn’t been played live since 2017, the year Chris Cornell died.
Both Momsen and McCready had already shared the stage with guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd, and drummer Matt Cameron. The Pretty Reckless frontwoman previously sang with the band at the 2019 Chris Cornell Tribute and reunited with them at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.
Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron also lent their guitar and drumming chops to The Pretty Reckless’ 2021 album Death By Rock and Roll, contributing to the track Only Love Can Save Me Now.
As for McCready, he also joined Soundgarden onstage at their Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Along with his two-song performance with the band, the Seattle native also wielded his heavily worn 1960 Fender Strat to perform a Jimi Hendrix-inspired version of the national anthem right before the game.
Speaking about the opportunity in an interview for the Seahawks' official website, McCready said, “It's way scary in a way, because I want to do it right and I don't want to mess it up, so that's going through my head every time. I've done it a bunch of times; I just want to do it how I do it, and hopefully it means something, and I do it right, so there's pressure there.”
Soundgarden’s comeback comes amid bigger news for the legendary band: the release of their final album with Cornell. After a multi-year legal battle, his widow, Vicky Cornell, agreed to give the remaining band members the vocal tracks the frontman recorded between 2015 and 2017.
“It’s emotionally draining, and there are things about it that are sad and melancholic,” Thayil told Guitar World in a recent interview.
“But at the same time, it’s exciting to finish the work that we started with Chris. It’s a tribute to Soundgarden and a tribute to Chris. To not do this would be a great disservice to everyone, including the fans who knew we were in a writing cycle while we were touring.”
And while Thayil didn’t confirm a release date, Cameron did reveal that the album was in the process of being mixed when he appeared on the Let There Be Talk podcast in July.
“We’re just gonna try to get this thing mixed,” he said. “Get it over the finish line, and then hopefully we’ll have a better idea what’s gonna come next. We’re just taking it one step at a time ’cause it’s been kind of a long process just to get to here.”
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