Shaina Shepherd on Whether She Would Want to Front Soundgarden Permanently
The surviving members of Soundgarden reunited in December 2024 to perform at a charity show benefitting Seattle Children’s Hospital. Fronting the band for the event was Seattle-based singer-songwriter Shaina Shepherd. While the performance was assumed to be a one-off moment, would Shepherd ever consider fronting Soundgarden on a permanent basis?
That question was posed by Australian outlet Hot Metal on their Facebook page, and Shepherd hopped in the comment section to address haters and respond to whether she’d want to become Soundgarden’s new singer.
Shepherd wrote, “Soundgarden is a revolutionary band that changed my life, your life, the world. I could never front Soundgarden. But I love making music with those guys.”
On why she took the charity gig, Shepherd added, “I did it for me, for them like any other music endeavor. I don’t care what any of you think – never did. I care what they think – always will. This whole article is meaningless. Just like your timeline.”
As previously reported, the Shepherd-fronted Soundgarden set was actually performed under the name Nudedragons, which is an anagram for Soundgarden. They first used the name in 2010 for their first show together since breaking up in 1997. That show was at The Showbox in Seattle, which was the location for this charity show.
The Nudedragons performed a six-song set that also featured a surprise appearance by Duff McKagan. The Guns N’ Roses bassist provided vocals on the set’s final two songs: “Kickstand” and a cover of the MC5 classic “Kick Out the Jams.”
The full setlist was as follows:
“Hunted Down”
“Outshined”
“Flower”
“Beyond the Wheel”
“Kickstand”
“Kick Out the Jams”
