Today (April 5th) tragically marks the 22nd anniversary of Layne Staley's death. To honor the absolutely iconic Alice in Chains frontman, alt-pop singer-songwriter Carlie Hanson has released a moving cover of the Seattle great's "Nutshell."
The Wisconsin-raised artist taps into the spirit of the Jar of Flies favorite, which arrives here through soft-shimmer guitar strums and vulnerable fretless bass sliding. Hanson also works her way through Staley and Jerry Cantrell's original vocal harmonies, while adding a few melodic choices of her own.
The cover comes with the blessing of Staley's family, and reinforces the Hanson family's longtime love of AIC. You can stream the single up above.
"I grew up listening to all kinds of sick-ass music. I remember my mom and sister blasting Alice in Chains on long drives when I was like 10," Hanson commenting, noting that the Unplugged-style performance doubly pays tribute to Staley and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who also died on April 5th, but in 1994.
"Not up until recently did I fall down a rabbit hole of everything they have out there. [Alice in Chains'] MTV Unplugged stunned me. I was so blown away and inspired to cover 'Nutshell' in remembrance of Layne and Kurt. I want to thank Layne's sweet momma for allowing this to happen. I'm excited for the world to hear my lil version."
Staley's mother, Nancy McCallum, added: "It is wonderful to see Layne's music live on with all generations, and the underlying message in his music continues to have such profound effects. As Layne would say, 'I would love to be able to hug you all.'"
Hanson's "Nutshell" cover follows the singer-songwriter's recent "Covering Faces" single, which you can check out here.
