The surviving members of Soundgarden performed with Taylor Momsen and Mike McCready at the NFL halftime show on Wednesday (September 9). Watch below.
The performance took place as the Seattle Seahawks went up against the New England Patriots at Lumen Field in their hometown of Seattle, Washington.
Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd played ‘Outshined’ and ‘Spoonman’ with The Pretty Reckless‘ frontwoman Momsen on vocals, with Pearl Jam‘s McCready on guitar.
The musicians were also joined at the live event by the Seahawks’ drumline, Blue Thunder, while McCready also delivered a pre-game rendition of the US national anthem.
As Consequence notes, fans who were hoping to watch the Soundgarden set were disappointed when NBC failed to broadcast the performance as part of its coverage. The channel reportedly focused on halftime analysis instead.
Soundgarden had announced their involvement in the halftime show last month. Prior to this, the group’s surviving members last performed live when Soundgarden were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame late last year. They appeared at the ceremony alongside Chris Cornell‘s daughter, Lily, as well as Momsen and McCready.
The Pretty Reckless had served as the opening act on Soundgarden’s final tour, before Cornell died in 2017.
Ahead of this week’s halftime show, McCready described himself as “Soundgarden’s biggest fan” during an interview on the Seahawks’ official website (via Ultimate Guitar).
“So being asked to do this by Matt, I love playing with those guys, and Taylor kills it; she’s got a great voice. You’re going to see something cool at halftime,” the musician continued. “It’s incredibly special, it’s incredibly poignant. It’s intense; you want to do it right.” He added: “I’ll play with those guys anywhere on the planet.”
The surviving members of Soundgarden previously regrouped for a Cornell tribute show in 2019, in 2021 when they performed with Brandi Carlile, and again in 2024 at another benefit event.
Last summer, Cornell’s former bandmates and other veteran rock musicians joined forces to form a supergroup called King Ultramega for charity, with proceeds being donated to the MusiCares organisation.
Earlier in 2025, Soundgarden marked the eighth anniversary of Cornell’s passing by hinting that they were working on an album that they had written in the period leading up to the singer’s death.
They later suggested that they were “pretty close” to finishing the project, and are currently getting it mixed and ready for release. In 2023, it was reported that the group had settled a legal dispute with Cornell’s estate that included the rights to several unreleased tracks.
