Chris Cornell Tribute Concert: Live Updates, Videos and Photos
Some of Chris Cornell's closest musical associates have come together to honor their departed friend tonight. Members of Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog -- as well as Foo Fighters, Metallica, Ryan Adams and others -- are participating in I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell at the Forum in Los Angeles.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the concert is a benefit for the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation and the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation.
We'll be updating this post through the night with photos and fan-shot video from the concert.
The Melvins kicked off the evening with a short, blistering set featuring their own "The Kicking Machine" and "Let It All Be" and concluding with a cover of Soundgraden's "Spoonman."
After single-song performances by Rita Wilson and Nikka Costa with Alain Johannes, the Foo Fighters took over with a cover of Soundgarden's "No Attention," followed by two songs Cornell's most famous band covered in the past - Devo's "Girl U Want" and Cheech and Chong's "Earache My Eye."
Before dedicating a set-closing solo electric rendition of "Everlong" to Cornell, frontman Dave Grohl said "With all this love, the one person who could have appreciated it the most couldn’t be here tonight. So I want to play one more song for him tonight."
Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme followed with a solo rendition of "Rusty Cage" that showed the influence of Johnny Cash's cover of the song. Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard then teamed up for a lovely take on "Seasons," Cornell's contribution to 1992's Singles soundtrack.
Miley Cyrus overcame the somewhat puzzled response she got when being introduced to the crowd with a strong vocal performance on "As Hope and Promise Fade."
The surviving members of Audioslave (minus bassist Tim Commeford) were up next, delivering a five-song set with a rotating cast of guest singers (Perry Farrell on "Cochise," Juliette Lewis on "Be Yourself," Tim McIlrath of Rise Against for "Set It Off," Brandi Carlile on "Like a Stone" and Dave Grohl on "Show Me How To Live") and bassists (including Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler, Chris Chaney and Metallica's Robert Trujillo.)
After forcing comedian Jack Black to vamp for a humorously long time - until James Hetfield came to his rescue for a brief rendition of "One" - Metallica kicked things up a notch with their take on Soundgarden's "All Your Lies," followed by their own "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Master of Puppets." After professing his love for Soundgarden's earlier albums, Hetfield led the band through a take on 1988's "Head Injury."
After a long break in the live action - mostly filled by Cornell interview and performance clips - Ryan Adams delivered beautiful solo acoustic versions of "Dead Wishes" and "Fell on Black Days."
Our report on Temple of the Dog and Soundgarden's evening-closing sets can be found here.
Metallica Performs at I Am The Highway
Watch Audioslave, Dave Grohl and Robert Trujillo Perform "Show Me How To Live"
Dave Grohl Performs "Everlong" at I Am The Highway
Josh Homme Performs "Rusty Cage" at I Am The Highway
James Hetfield and Jack Black Duet on "One"
Adam Levine and Stone Gossard Perform "Seasons" at I Am The Highway
The Melvins Perform "Spoonman" at I Am The Highway
Cornell passed away in May 2017 from an apparent suicide after a Soundgarden concert in Detroit. His widow, Vicky, has filed a lawsuit against his doctor claiming that his prescriptions were written without regard to her husband's health or history of substance abuse. Cornell had several prescription drugs in his system at the time of his death.