Alice in Chains – Founders Award

Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) has given their 2020 Founders Award to grunge pioneers Alice in Chains. To celebrate the award they put on a livestream event filled with guest performers covering Alice in Chains songs. The chosen songs span their entire career from Dirt to their most recent album Ranier Fog. 

The event garnered more than 275,000 views in it’s first simulcast and raised over $600,000 for charity. 

Performances included Metallica and Korn both covering “Would?” and each putting their own spin on the song, Duff McKagan and Shooter Jennings performing “Down In A Hole”, and Ann Wilson’s cover of “Rooster”. Other performers include Mark Lanegan, Taylor Hawkins, Corey Taylor, and Billy Corgan. 

Past Founders Award honorees include Brandi Carlile, The Doors, and Jimmy Page.

Alice In Chains formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987. By the early 90s they were one of the biggest bands in the world and one of the leaders of the grunge movement. Alice in Chains was best known for their signature Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell harmonies. After Layne passed away in 2002 they replaced him with William DuVall in 2006. The band has releasing new music and touring ever since. Alice in Chains has sold over 30 million records worldwide, five number one hits, and eleven Grammy nominations. 

If you missed the show you can listen to it on Amazon Music or watch the video of it on MoPOP’s YouTube channel. 

You can also catch separate interviews by Tommy Marz with Mike Inez and William Duvall.