Earlier this week, the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture honoured grunge rock icons Alice in Chains with the museum’s Founders Award, celebrating with a virtual concert that saw a slew of rock legends performing renditions of classic songs from the band’s back catalogue.
Alice in Chains themselves kicked off proceedings from the MoPOP, playing an acoustic version of their 2009 Black Gives Way to Blue cut ‘Your Decision’.
Following that, there were nearly 20 remotely-filmed covers of AIC songs by the likes of Metallica, Korn and Mastodon, members of Soundgarden, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana and Foo Fighters.
Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan, City and Colour, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Liv Warfield, Mark Lanegan were among the other performers.
The wide-ranging tribute saw many of the band’s classic tracks given a new interpretation. Both Metallica and Korn covered ‘Would?’, Lanegan performed ‘Nutshell’, Ann Wilson delivered her rendition of ‘Rooster’ and the band themselves performed 1994 Jar of Flies standout ‘No Excuses’.
“We’re glad to be a part of your journey and life, and really cool to have gotten to know all of you guys and to tour with you guys, and play music with you guys,” commented Metallica after their performance, congratulating Alice in Chains on their win.
“You are much appreciated and thank you for continuing on playing music, and offering some inspiration for the new musicians of the world.”
Other performances included an all-star supergroup for ‘Man in the Box’ comprising of both Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney of Jane’s Addiction, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, and Corey Taylor. Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan teamed up with Shooter Jennings for ‘Down in a Hole’. Members of Soundgarden, meanwhile, covered ‘Angry Chair’.
The tribute concert also marked the debut musical performance of Lily Cornell Silver, the daughter of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Alongside Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo, she performed the title track from Black Gives Way to Blue.
Organisers say the event raised over $700,000 for a range of initiatives to benefit the museum including youth development programs and community engagement, with the museum partnering with Amazon for a covers compilation.
Watch the tribute in full below. ‘Man in the Box’ begins at 27:07, Lily Cornell’s performance begins around 1:43:20, and Metallica’s cover of ‘Would’ kicks off at the 2:07:50 mark.
