Paul McCartney Joining Nirvana for Benefit Concert

In what has to be one of the more bizarre stories of the year, Paul McCartney is taking the stage with the surviving members of Nirvana for tonight’s 12-12-12 concert. Sir Paul is filling in for the late Kurt Cobain as part of the event to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

McCartney will be joining Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, though the group is not performing any of Nirvana’s music, according to reports. They plan to debut a song they’ve been secretly working in the studio instead.

In an interview with the British Sun, Sir Paul shared that he and Grohl spoke and that he invited him to “jam with some mates.” However, McCartney didn’t know those mates were the surviving members of Nirvana – or much else about Nirvana for that matter.

“I didn’t really know who they were,” McCartney said. “They are saying how good it is to be back together. I said ‘Whoa? You guys haven’t played together for all that time?’ And somebody whispered to me, ‘That’s Nirvana. You’re Kurt.’ I couldn’t believe it.”

In addition to this lineup, the 12-12-12 benefit will include performances by The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder and Kanye West.

The concert kicks off tonight at 7:30pm ET. You can get details on how to watch the broadcast – and make a donation – on the 12-12-12 Concert website.