Ayron Jones Addresses Polarizing Alice in Chains Event Performance

Alice in Chains were given the Museum of Pop Culture's Founders Award earlier this month, and there was a star-studded lineup of performers for the virtual celebration. Among them was rising rocker Ayron Jones, who has commented on his polarizing performance to Loudwire Nights.

Jones joined Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan, Shooter Jennings and Martin Feveyear for a rendition of the acoustic Dirt track "Down in a Hole," but he also tackled a cover of "Heaven Beside You" from AIC's 1995 self-titled album.

Comments on the video of the performance were mixed, with some supporting Jones' originality in the cover and others not liking it. One note, in particular, said that his vocal style was a "kind of weird" cross between Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley.

"I was really honored to be able to be a part of it," Jones said. "['Heaven Beside You'] wasn't honestly my favorite performance of mine."

Jones explained that due to COVID-19 and having to quarantine after traveling to Seattle from Nashville, he wasn't able to prepare for the event properly.

"Again, I say it first — it wasn't my favorite performance. The reason I chose to do it that way is because I knew that there were gonna be some people that loved it and I knew there was gonna be some that hated it. But either way, it was going to leave a lasting impression, and at some point, my name was gonna pop up again."

Watch Jones' performance of "Heaven Beside You" below, and listen to the full interview above to hear more about his smash hit "Take Me Away" and what to expect from his upcoming debut album.