Nirvana’s surviving members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear reunited on Sunday at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles to accept the Video Vanguard Award, three decades after the band’s debut at the ceremony.
Grohl, who played drums in Nirvana, and bassist Novoselic were joined onstage by touring guitarist Smear as they accepted the award, presented by Public Enemy’s Chuck D.
Novoselic spoke on behalf of the band and paid tribute to lead singer Kurt Cobain, who died by suicide in 1994 at the age of 27.
“Kurt was one of one,” Novoselic said. “None of us could imagine that our band, our sound, and our aesthetic would mean so much to so many people. But ultimately the music had a life of its own. It charted its own course.”
He added that Nirvana continues to resonate because people remain “hungry for authenticity, for something real, something uncompromising, something that tells people it’s just okay to ‘come as you are’”.
“Kurt would love that legacy,” Novoselic said.
The Video Vanguard Award, represented by a gold Moon Person trophy, recognises musicians and directors whose contributions have made an impact on music video and popular culture.
Three of Nirvana’s music videos received honours at the MTV VMAs during the band’s brief period at the height of the grunge era between 1992 and 1994.
Smells Like Teen Spirit won Best New Artist in a Video and Best Alternative Video in 1992. The following year, In Bloom, a black-and-white parody of 1960s variety shows, won Best Alternative Video.
In 1994, Heart Shaped Box, Nirvana’s final music video, received the same award. Grohl, Novoselic and Smear accepted it at the VMAs.
Grohl, who later formed Foo Fighters with Smear, also reflected on Cobain’s absence.
“I’m not the most vocal person in the world,” he said. “But it’d be silly to say that it doesn’t feel like there’s something missing, and I think about Kurt every day. I’d like to thank everybody for paying attention to our band.”
Nirvana’s surviving members have reunited on a handful of occasions over the decades, including the band’s 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and an SNL50 performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit with Post Malone, billed as Post Nirvana.