Soundgarden and Taylor Momsen to Headline Seahawks Halftime Show

Soundgarden is heading back to Seattle for something bigger than a concert. The surviving members of the band will perform a halftime show at Lumen Field on September 9 during the Seattle Seahawks' NFC West home opener against the New England Patriots, joined by Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen. Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready rounds out the lineup, playing the National Anthem before kickoff on behalf of the Washington Innocence Project.

This is a homecoming on multiple levels. The Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl LX champions, and their fan base is getting a proper rock sendoff from the city's own grunge royalty. Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, and Ben Shepherd will share the stage with Momsen and McCready, a lineup that signals this performance is being taken seriously as a musical event, not just halftime filler.

Why Taylor Momsen Is the Right Call for This Moment

Momsen is not a random guest. She has been the closest thing to a live stand-in for Chris Cornell since his death in May 2017, and she has earned that position through repeat performances rather than a one-time tribute slot.

In November 2024, she stepped in for Cornell at Soundgarden's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, delivering "Rusty Cage" and "Black Hole Sun" to a room full of industry heavyweights. Before that, she joined the band at the 2019 "I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell" benefit show at the Forum in Los Angeles. Each time, she has handled Cornell's catalog with the kind of commitment that makes audiences forget they are watching a tribute and start feeling the songs again.

Her band, The Pretty Reckless, has built a serious rock catalog of its own over the past decade, so she is not just borrowing credibility from Soundgarden. She brings her own.

What the Soundgarden Archive Album Means for the Bigger Picture

The halftime show is worth watching in the context of what Soundgarden is building toward right now. The band recently confirmed they are in the mixing stage of an album built around the final recordings made with Cornell before the 2017 tour. Drummer Matt Cameron described an eight-track LP produced by Terry Date, drawing from demos the band developed between 2013 and 2016.

That is significant. Terry Date produced "Superunknown" and "Down on the Upside," two of the band's defining records. If he is back behind the board on this final collection, the sonic continuity with Soundgarden's peak era is real, not just marketing language.

The Seahawks halftime show lands at exactly the right moment to reintroduce the band to a mass audience before that album arrives. A stadium full of football fans watching Thayil, Cameron, and Shepherd lock in behind Momsen on "Black Hole Sun" is the kind of moment that pushes a catalog back onto streaming charts and puts a new release in front of people who may not have been tracking the news.

For reference, Momsen fronting Soundgarden at the Rock Hall induction generated significant attention across rock and mainstream music press, which is exactly the pattern you would want to repeat ahead of a new release cycle.

Where This Fits for Independent Creators Watching the Industry

The broader structure here is worth noting for anyone building a career in music. Momsen spent years developing her own band before she was trusted with Cornell's legacy in public settings. The credibility she brought to the 2024 Rock Hall performance came from years of Pretty Reckless touring and releasing music at a consistent level. That is not a shortcut story. It is a long one.

For independent artists thinking about how legacy bands extend their reach and how newer artists get associated with major moments, this is a useful case study. Guest appearances with established acts carry weight when the guest has put in the work on their own terms first.

If you are an artist or creator building in that direction, [share your music with us](/submit) and [check our events calendar](/events) for what's moving in Los Angeles and beyond.

The September 9 performance will be one to watch. And if the Soundgarden archive album drops this cycle, it sets up one of the more compelling rock release stories of the year.