The band previously performed with Momsen and McCready at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Soundgarden have shared official footage from their NFL Halftime Performance on September 9 at Lumen Field in Seattle. Guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron were joined by The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen on lead vocals and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, creating a lineup deeply connected to both Soundgarden’s history and the larger Seattle music community. The appearance was Soundgarden’s first public performance since the group’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2025 and represented another rare opportunity to hear the band’s music performed live following the death of singer Chris Cornell in 2017.
The abbreviated halftime performance consisted of a two-song medley featuring “Outshined” and “Spoonman,” two of Soundgarden’s most recognizable songs from different stages of the band’s rise to international fame. Momsen stepped into the formidable role of handling Cornell’s vocal parts, while McCready added another guitar alongside Thayil. “Outshined,” originally released on Soundgarden’s 1991 breakthrough album Badmotorfinger, gave the group a suitably heavy opening, before the musicians transitioned into “Spoonman,” the Grammy-winning single from 1994’s Superunknown. Particularly significant was the performance of “Spoonman,” which marked the first known live performance of the song by Soundgarden since Cornell’s death and the band’s final 2017 tour. The halftime set itself was not carried as part of NBC’s television broadcast, making the performance primarily an experience for the crowd inside Lumen Field, although footage quickly circulated afterward.
Check out the full pro-shot clip below.
McCready’s involvement made the occasion even more distinctly Seattle. Before kickoff, the Pearl Jam guitarist took the field by himself to perform an instrumental, Jimi Hendrix-inspired rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” appearing on behalf of the Washington Innocence Project. He then returned during halftime to join Soundgarden. McCready had spoken beforehand about what playing with the group meant to him, describing himself as one of Soundgarden’s biggest fans and recalling how he used to bring the band pizzas while they rehearsed simply so he could spend time around them. Discussing the halftime collaboration with the Seahawks, McCready called the opportunity “incredibly special” and “incredibly poignant,” emphasizing the significance of playing Soundgarden’s music in Seattle.
Momsen’s presence was equally meaningful. The Pretty Reckless have longstanding ties to Soundgarden: they served as the opening act during what became Soundgarden’s final tour with Cornell in 2017, and Momsen has repeatedly cited Cornell and Soundgarden as major musical influences. She subsequently participated in the 2019 I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell concert and has continued to perform with Soundgarden’s surviving members on special occasions. Thayil and Cameron also appeared on The Pretty Reckless’ 2021 album Death by Rock and Roll, further strengthening the connection between the two bands. Rather than attempting to imitate Cornell, Momsen has approached the material with her own vocal identity while honoring the weight of songs inseparably associated with one of rock’s most distinctive singers.
The Seahawks performance effectively continued a collaboration that had taken shape publicly less than a year earlier at Soundgarden’s long-awaited induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Soundgarden officially entered the Hall in the Performer category as part of the Class of 2025, with Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, Ben Shepherd, Chris Cornell and original bassist Hiro Yamamoto among the members honored. The 40th annual induction ceremony took place November 8, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Actor Jim Carrey, a longtime admirer of the band who famously hosted the 1996 episode of Saturday Night Live on which Soundgarden appeared, served as the band’s presenter.
When it came time for Soundgarden’s music to be performed, the surviving members surrounded themselves with musicians who shared personal or musical connections to the band. Momsen took the lead vocal on a ferocious performance of “Rusty Cage,” from Badmotorfinger, with McCready joining Thayil on guitar. The combination of Cameron, Shepherd and Thayil with Momsen and McCready was essentially the foundation for the lineup that would reappear at Lumen Field ten months later. The Rock Hall performance demonstrated that Soundgarden’s surviving members could revisit the catalog without presenting the collaboration as a conventional replacement for Cornell or a permanent new version of the band.
The Hall of Fame tribute expanded further for “Black Hole Sun.” Brandi Carlile took the primary vocal role, with Momsen also participating, while Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell joined the performance alongside the Soundgarden musicians. Original bassist Hiro Yamamoto also returned to the stage, making the occasion especially historic; Yamamoto had left Soundgarden in 1989, years before “Black Hole Sun” was written or recorded. His participation brought together different eras of the group while emphasizing the shared community that helped establish Seattle as one of rock music’s most important cities during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
One of the ceremony’s most poignant moments came separately when Cornell’s daughter Toni Cornell performed “Fell on Black Days,” accompanied by Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson. The performance shifted the celebration from Soundgarden’s broader musical legacy toward a more intimate remembrance of Cornell himself. Together, “Rusty Cage,” “Black Hole Sun” and “Fell on Black Days” represented three sides of Soundgarden’s catalog while allowing different musicians to pay tribute without trying to duplicate Cornell’s singular voice.
The September 9 Seahawks appearance therefore carried significance beyond being an unusual NFL halftime show. It reunited Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd with two musicians who had already helped them celebrate Soundgarden’s legacy at one of the most important ceremonies in the band’s history. This time, however, the setting was not an industry awards stage in Los Angeles but Soundgarden’s hometown, with tens of thousands of football fans filling Lumen Field. McCready’s presence strengthened that Seattle connection even further: Pearl Jam and Soundgarden emerged from the same musical community, and Cameron himself spent decades as Pearl Jam’s drummer in addition to his history with Soundgarden.
The performance also demonstrated the unusual path Soundgarden has taken since Cornell’s death. Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd have resisted simply replacing their singer and carrying on as though nothing changed. Instead, their appearances under the Soundgarden name have largely been tied to tributes, milestone events and carefully chosen collaborations. Momsen and McCready have now become recurring figures in those performances, first standing alongside the group as Soundgarden received its place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and then helping bring “Outshined” and “Spoonman” back to a Seattle stage. For a band whose identity is so closely connected to its hometown, hearing those riffs thunder through Lumen Field made the Seahawks halftime show more than a brief sports spectacle—it became another chapter in Soundgarden’s effort to celebrate its music while keeping Chris Cornell’s legacy at the center of the story.
