If you’ve ever stayed up way too late on a Saturday night just to see if a certain performance lives up to the hype, you know the vibe. Saturday Night Live is currently in the middle of its massive 51st season, and honestly, the snl music guest list for this year has been a wild mix of "legacy legends" and "who is that?"
It's 2026. The show just passed its 50th-anniversary milestone. You'd think they’d run out of steam, but Lorne Michaels and his team are still pulling rabbits out of hats.
Whether you’re looking for the upcoming January schedule or trying to remember who that indie band was back in November, I’ve got the full rundown. No fluff. Just the facts.
The 2026 kickoff: January’s heavy hitters
Coming off the winter break is always a bit of a gamble. The energy in Studio 8H can be a little stiff after the holidays, but the January 2026 lineup is looking fairly stacked.
On January 17, we’ve got a massive debut. Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard is hosting—which is cool because he actually played an NBC page in that Saturday Night biopic recently—but the big news is A$AP Rocky making his official musical guest debut. It’s kinda crazy it took this long for him to get the main slot, though he did pop up for a cameo years ago with Donald Glover.
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The rest of the month looks like this:
- January 24: Teyana Taylor is hosting for the first time, and she’s bringing the Brooklyn indie rockers Geese with her. If you haven't heard Geese, they’re loud, messy, and exactly the kind of "new blood" the show needs.
- January 31: Alexander Skarsgård takes the stage, and the music is handled by Cardi B. This is Cardi’s second time as a musical guest. Everyone remembers her first time in 2018 when she basically broke the internet by revealing her pregnancy mid-song. No word on any surprises this time, but with her, you never know.
What happened in late 2025?
To understand where the show is at, you gotta look at the end of last year. It was a weird, emotional stretch. Bowen Yang officially left the cast during the Christmas episode, which was a huge blow to the weekly dynamic.
The music was pretty stellar toward the end of the year, though. Cher showed up for the December 20 holiday special with Ariana Grande hosting. Seeing Cher perform "DJ Play a Christmas Song" and "Run Rudolph Run" alongside the SNL band was one of those rare "TV magic" moments that actually felt authentic.
Earlier in December, we saw some deep cuts. Dijon performed on the December 6 episode with Melissa McCarthy. He brought out a full band that included Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), which made for one of the most musically sophisticated sets the show has seen in a long time.
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Then you had Lily Allen on December 13. She performed "Sleepwalking" and "Madeline," even dragging her friend Dakota Johnson on stage for a cameo. It felt very 2000s-revival, in a good way.
A season of "double duty" and surprises
One of the highlights of the earlier snl music guest list this season was Sabrina Carpenter on October 18. She did the "double duty" thing—hosting and performing.
It was a chaotic episode.
During her performance of "Nobody's Son," she actually dropped the F-bomb twice. Live. On the East Coast broadcast, it went through completely uncensored. By the time the West Coast feed aired, NBC had scrubbed it, but the clips were everywhere within minutes.
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We also saw:
- Doja Cat kicking off the season premiere with Bad Bunny.
- Role Model making a debut in October and bringing out Charli XCX as a surprise guest.
- Brandi Carlile returning for her fourth appearance in November, proving she’s basically a member of the family at this point.
- Sombr, the "Back to Friends" singer, who brought a much younger, TikTok-heavy audience to the November 8 show.
Why the guest list matters more than ever
In the age of streaming, people usually just watch the sketches on YouTube the next morning. But the musical guest is the one thing that still feels like an "event."
There’s always a tension between Lorne Michaels' old-school tastes and the need to stay relevant. That’s why you see a schedule that bounces from Cher to a band like Geese. It's about balance.
If you're planning to watch live, remember that Saturday Night Live airs at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. If you miss it, the performances are usually uploaded to the SNL YouTube channel by Sunday morning, though licensing issues sometimes mean they disappear after a few months.
Practical steps for fans
If you want to keep up with the snl music guest list as more dates for February and March get announced, here is what you should do:
- Follow the official SNL Twitter (X) or Instagram: They usually post the iconic "corkboard" photo with the sticky notes every Tuesday or Wednesday before a new block of shows.
- Set a Peacock alert: If you’re a subscriber, you can add the show to your "My Stuff" list to get notified when new episodes are live.
- Check the "1,000th Episode" news: Rumor has it the show is hitting its 1,000th episode later this season in May 2026. The musical guest for that is expected to be someone massive—think Paul McCartney or Beyoncé level. Start looking for those announcements in late March.
The show is definitely in a transition phase with big cast departures like Bowen Yang and Heidi Gardner, but the music is staying remarkably consistent. Whether you’re there for the rap, the indie rock, or the pop divas, season 51 is definitely delivering.