Soundgarden Members to Play First Show Since Chris Cornell Died
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and drummer Matt Cameron will take the stage together for the first time since the death of singer Chris Cornell when they make an appearance at a European festival this summer.
According to reports, they’re set to perform at Denmark’s Northside Festival on June 8 as members of MC50, an MC5-inspired supergroup led by MC5's Wayne Kramer and featuring Thayil, Fugazi’s Brendan Canty, King’s X’s Dug Pinnick and Zen Gorilla’s Marcus Durant.
“Kramer has gathered a new band around him, which he calls the MC50," a post on the Northside Festival website reads. "It features guitarist Kim Thayil and drummer Matt Cameron from Soundgarden, Marcus Durant from Zen Guerrilla and founder of Was (Not Was) and the Rolling Stones-producer Don Was. This ensures that a world-class rendition Kick Out the Jams will be performed, and it’s going to be particularly exciting to see what else Kramer and his crew have in the bag when the iconic album is celebrated this summer.”
The MC50 U.S. tour, which marks five decades since the band formed, includes full performances of their groundbreaking 1969 debut LP. It begins on Sept. 5 in Ft. Lauderdale and ends on Oct. 27 in Detroit.
Cornell committed suicide in May 2017. He was 52 years old. In her first interview since his death, from earlier this year, his widow Vicky insisted he’d never have taken his own life, and that prescription medication must have played a role. “He wanted to be there for his family, for his children. He loved his life,” she said. “He would never have ever left this world. I don't think that he could make any decisions because of the level of impairment."