Soundgarden played “Spoonman” for the first time since the night Chris Cornell died, in front of a stadium and not a TV audience. The grunge band’s three surviving members reunited at halftime of the Seattle Seahawks’ season opener on Sept. 9, a rematch of Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots, Rolling Stone reports. The set wasn’t broadcast, according to Stereogum, and the official video only went online in late September.
Guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron were joined by Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless, who opened for Soundgarden on the band’s last tour with Cornell, on vocals, and by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready as second guitarist. They played a medley of “Outshined” and “Spoonman,” backed by the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder drumline, per Blabbermouth. The last time the band had played “Spoonman” was May 17, 2017, Cornell’s final show with them.
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McCready also played a Jimi Hendrix-inspired national anthem before kickoff. He told the Seahawks’ website he felt the pressure.
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.
Mike McCready, Seahawks.com via Blabbermouth
The game was moved to a Wednesday so the NFL could play its first regular-season game in Australia the next day, Fox 13 Seattle notes. The Seahawks came from behind in the second half to win.
What’s next for the band
Soundgarden has played together only sporadically since 2017, often with a woman fronting in Cornell’s place. Momsen and McCready were also part of the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November 2025. Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron are working on a new album built from unreleased recordings they made with Cornell, produced with Terry Date, per Blabbermouth.
Thayil talked to Seattle’s KOMO News about the reunion and the new record. Watch the full interview below.
The songs came back again on Oct. 3, when Momsen, McCready and Cameron performed a Soundgarden tribute at Tom Morello’s Power to the People festival. The NFL’s world tour of halftime shows, from Melbourne to Paris, is still running, but this was the hometown one.
- Performance
- Sept. 9, 2026, Lumen Field, Seattle
- Lineup
- Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd, Matt Cameron, Taylor Momsen, Mike McCready
- Songs
- “Outshined” and “Spoonman”
- Next
- A new album from unreleased Chris Cornell recordings
