SAN BERNADINO, Cal. — The crowd in the final hour of the rock festival Cal Jam were treated to a surprise Sunday night: an impromptu reunion of the former members of 1990’s grunge superstars, Nirvana.
Rolling Stone reports that the festival, organized by Foo Fighters lead singer and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, ended with a six-song set performed by Nirvana’s surviving members, with help from rock legend Joan Jett and Deer Tick guitarist and singer John McCauley.
After the Foo Fighters performed to close the festival, Grohl switched from his duties as the band’s frontman to his familiar spot behind the drums for the reunion. He was joined by fellow Foo Fighter and Nirvana alum Pat Smear and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic.
They opened with “Serve the Servants,” with McCauley handling the vocals. McCauley stuck around to perform “Scentless Apprentice” and “In Bloom.”
Jett then took the stage, reprising her 2014 role as lead singer for Nirvana’s Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2014. The legendary rock star fronted Nirvana’s “Breed” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” before closing the night with “All Apologies.”
In the final song, Novoselic handed his bass to Brody Dalle of the Distillers and played the accordion, while Grohl briefly joined Jett on vocals in the song’s final moments, almost mournfully but true to the song, as the night faded out: “All in all is all we are…”
Watch the performance below:
