Last night, Alice in Chains were honored as the recipients of the 2020 Founder’s Award from the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop).
Metallica, Korn, Heart’s Ann Wilson, Mark Lanegan and Alice in Chains themselves performed more than 20 songs during the livestream event that paid tribute to the Seattle quartet.
Additionally, friends and fans ranging from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder to Iron Man actor Robert Downey, Jr. shared congratulations. Alice in Chains themselves were shown in often-humorous segments, touring the museum exhibits, which include Jimi Hendrix guitars, DEVO jumpsuits, and numerous items of iconic horror film memorabilia.
The virtual event was viewed by more than 275,000 people worldwide and raised more than $600,000 to keep the museum and its educational and community programs, currently closed due to the pandemic, operating.
Alice in Chains guitarist/singer Jerry Cantrell spoke about the band’s history as the group received the honor: “This band started 33 years ago, three and a half miles down the road in Ballard… it’s a pretty amazing journey that we’re still on. There are so many great artists and friends who have contributed shout-outs and performances — it’s been a really cool experience and William, Sean, Mike, and I would like to thank everybody. And, as we accept these awards, we want to remember our bandmates as well, Layne Staley and Mike Starr. Wow, what a night!”
Other performances included Soundgarden‘s Kim Thayil performing ‘Drone” with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Guns N’ Roses Duff McKagan on his first instrument, the drums, doing “Down in a Hole” with SPIN cover subject Shooter Jennings on vocals. Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan delivered “Check My Brain,” and Fishbone did ‘Them Bones.”
The event also marked the moving debut performance of Lily Cornell Silver, the daughter of Chris Cornell and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver, playing piano and singing AIC’s “Black Gives Way To Blue.”
Young performers from the Museum’s Sound Off! 21-and-under music showcase also delivered stellar performances in tribute to the nights’ honorees.
The two and half-hour show is available to watch below, and underneath the video, we’ve made it easy to find the performances you want to see.
8:18 – Alice In Chains – “Your Decision”
14:09 – Ann Wilson – “Rooster”
27:07 – Navarro/Hawkins/Taylor/Chaney – “Man In The Box”
34:08 – Duff McKagan and Shooter Jennings – “Down In A Hole”
43:04 – Korn – “Would?”
47:15 – Mark Lanegan/N. Wilson/Liv Warfield – “Brother”
53:40 – Fishbone – “Them Bones”
1:01:07 – David’s Van – “Dam That River”
1:02:01 – The Human Missile Crisis – “Swing on This”
1:02:52 – Katyrose – “Your Decision”
1:04:44 – Talaya – “All I Am”
1:07:09 – Dallas Green – “Rain When I Die”
1:12:45 – Liv Warfield – “Put You Down”
1:19:56 – Mastodon – “Again”
1:26:41 – Kim Thayil & Shaina Shepherd – “It Ain’t Like That”
1:32:37 – Kim Thayil & Krist Novoselic – {Drone”
1:43:20 – Lily Cornell Silver – “Black Gives Way To Blue”
1:47:36 – Mark Lanegan & Bjorklund – “Nutshell”
1:52:00 – Jones & Fielder – “Heaven Beside You”
1:58:52 – Members Of Soundgarden – “Angry Chair”
2:04:10 – Billy Corgan – “Check My Brain”
2:07:47 – Metallica – “Would?”
2:15:23 – Alice In Chains – “No Excuses”
2:23:47 – Eric & Encarnación – “Black Gives Way To Blue”
You can donate to MoPop here.
