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Suns of Soundgarden played “Loud Love”, “Outshined” and “Spoonman” on Saturday 3 October at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The group was Taylor Momsen on vocals, Mike McCready on guitar, Matt Cameron on drums and Robbie Mangano on bass, with Tom Morello joining them.
Cameron drummed in Soundgarden from 1986 to 1997 and again for the reunion; McCready and Momsen never did. The three songs come from “Louder Than Love” (1989), “Badmotorfinger” (1991) and “Superunknown” (1994).
The show was part of the Power To The People Festival, the first edition of Morello’s own festival, with two stages and an area called Freedom Village given over to grassroots organising and mutual aid. Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Brittany Howard, Dropkick Murphys, Serj Tankian, Cypress Hill, Killer Mike, Stephen Stills, Nathaniel Rateliff, The Linda Lindas, Geezer Butler and Scott Ian were all on the same bill.
Morello wrote of the band they were honouring: “Soundgarden redeemed hard rock and metal music by unapologetically embracing thunderous riffs and melding them with deep, dark, soul-searching poetry that opened the door for generations of artists who felt empowered to use their brains along with their musical brawn.”
Text by Marçal Bonastre