Chris Cornell has shuffled his weekend schedule around a bit.  Yesterday he announced that he would be “opening” for Barack Obama, along with indie rock band The National, this Saturday at one of the President’s campaign stops in Des Moines, Iowa.  Later in the day, he posted a message on his saying that he had to cancel his appearance at Jay-Z’s Made In America Festival this Sunday due to “scheduling conflicts.”  

Given that Made In America offered the promise of a reunion of the Seattle supergroup Temple Of The Dog (the other members of that group are all in Pearl Jam, who headline Made In America Sunday night), it’s no surprise that the response hasn’t been positive. Comments on his Facebook page and website range from “All of a sudden my Temple of the Dog dream is GONE!” to “This blows. The only reason I got a ticket was the possibility of TOTD. I did not even consider going until Cornell was added. I’m definitely bummed and out 90 bucks.” 

In less controversial Cornell news, Soundgarden is scheduled to release their first album in more than a decade, King Animal, this fall. 

UPDATE:  At about 1:30 pm ET, Cornell posted the following to his Facebook page: “Woke up to learn some people f***ed up. I pulled out of the MIA Festival 2 weeks ago. I apologize to my fans that you were not told and bought tix. I will find a resolution and get back to u.”  We’ll keep you up to date with this story as it develops.  

– Brian Ives, CBS Local