After a long offseason, football is finally back. What’s the best way to get hyped for the new season? The NFL decided to go all-in on grunge with one of the biggest and best grunge bands of all time.
On September 9, 2026, the defending Super Bowl champs Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots, their Super Bowl opponents from last season. During halftime, the surviving members of legendary band Soundgarden are slated to perform. Taylor Momsen of Pretty Reckless will fill in on vocals, while Mike McCready of Pearl Jam will tag in for additional guitar.
The band has rarely performed with other singers after the death of their frontman Chris Cornell in 2017. However, Momsen already has chemistry with the rest of the group. She was among the many vocalists who joined them during their 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Aside from the incredible Soundgarden halftime performance, there are quite a few other memorable appearances for the game. McCready is pulling double duty on September 9, as he’ll also perform the National Anthem. Additionally, country star Luke Bryan is headlining the ‘Salute 250 Kickoff Concert’ three hours before kickoff.
Legendary Grunge, Seattle-Based Band Soundgarden Will Perform NFL Halftime Show
Currently, surviving members Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil, and Ben Shepherd are all working together for one last album. In a report in July 2026, Cameron detailed that they’re finally in the mixing stages for the record and mulling over strategy for release.
“Well, we don’t really have a [release] date yet,” Matt Cameron of Soundgarden said. “We’re just gonna try to get this thing mixed, 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.”
What we do know about the album is that Soundgarden will use the last remaining Chris Cornell vocals they have. Cameron admitted that going over the last of his vocals was an extremely emotional experience for the band.
“Emotionally it’s been extreme highs and extreme lows,” Cameron told Billboard in September 2025. “Hearing (Cornell’s) voice on these powerful hard rock songs is the most empowering thing in the world for me. Then I listen to his voice soloed up when I’m working on stuff, or if Kim or Ben is working on something, and it all comes back to the fact that he’s not with us and he left us in a way that has so many questions. It’s been gut-wrenching but at the same time very empowering.”
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for RRHOF
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