Soundgarden Weren’t the Band Cut from the Sabbath Tribute

No drama, no money demands — just bad timing. The band pays tribute, clears the air, and two days later, Matt Cameron quits Pearl Jam.

For a few days, the rock world was buzzing with rumors: Did Sharon Osbourne really kick Soundgarden off the Back to the Beginning festival lineup because their manager asked for too much money?

That’s what people thought after Sharon revealed that one band had been dropped from the Black Sabbath tribute because their rep demanded payment — while every other artist played for free, out of love and respect for Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.

With Soundgarden noticeably missing from the show in Birmingham, fans started pointing fingers. The internet did its thing, and the theory spread fast.

But turns out… it wasn’t them.

Soundgarden took to their official Instagram page to set the record straight. No bad blood, no money talk, just a scheduling nightmare that kept them from joining the celebration. And their statement was pure class.

“Congratulations to Black Sabbath on the grand and final pealing of their vesper bells! Thank you for an astounding career that provided us and your legion of fans with a lifetime of beauty, horror, love, power, happiness, melancholy and a profoundly sublime, yet viscerally rocking transcendence informed by both doom and hope. Your majestic brilliance has inspired greatness in scores of other bands, musicians and songwriters. However, the crown will forever remain yours!”

They go on to say: “We are very grateful to Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, as well as Sharon Osbourne and music director, Tom Morello for the honor and invitation to Soundgarden to perform at the Back to the Beginning festival! We are super bummed and regret that we were unable to coordinate the schedules of our individual and collective projects to attend and contribute to the festival. The warmth, love and support from the Black Sabbath team has been a continuing source of encouragement and strength throughout our career. ”

So that’s that — Soundgarden weren’t the mystery band Sharon was talking about, and whoever was demanding a paycheck still hasn’t been named.

And just to add more weight to the timing: two days after the tribute, longtime drummer Matt Cameron announced he was leaving Pearl Jam. That might help explain why scheduling was such a mess on the Soundgarden side.

The bottom line? No hard feelings, no shady deals. Just a band that couldn’t make it to a show they genuinely cared about. And they still showed up — with heart.