Watch Dave Grohl Play Nirvana Songs with St. Vincent and Beck

Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear and Grohl's daughter Violet also performed

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Jan 6, 2020

Dave Grohl's 2019 saw him cover the likes of Van Halen, Metallica, Pantera and Motörhead, and in getting 2020 underway, he's revisited the Nirvana catalogue with the help of St. Vincent, Beck and more.

Grohl reunited with former Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear at the 2020 Art of Elysium Gala, an annual fundraising event that took place at Los Angeles's Hollywood Palladium on Saturday (January 4).

The surviving members played a five-song set of Nirvana songs with St. Vincent, Beck and Grohl's daughter Violet handling vocal duties in place of the late Kurt Cobain.

St. Vincent opened the evening handling vocals for "Lithium," which she also performed at Nirvana's 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Beck then stepped to the mic to lend vocals to covers of "In Bloom" and "Been a Son."

Thirteen-year-old Violet Grohl then joined the group to perform "Heart-Shaped Box," ahead of all special guests returning to cover David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World." Nirvana's cover of the Bowie track famously appeared on their recently reissued MTV Unplugged live album.

The Art of Elysium set marked the first time Grohl, Smear and Novoselic had performed Nirvana material together since October 2018. That year saw them enlist vocalists Joan Jett and Deer Tick's John McAuley for a six-song encore at Foo Fighters' CalJam festival.

In September 2018, the three also reunited at a show in Seattle to cover the Vaselines.


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