NEWS
Paul McCartney, Sabrina Carpenter, Paul Simon and more have been added to the ‘SNL’ 50 concert line-up.
Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special is set to take place this Sunday (February 16) and will include the likes of McCartney, Carpenter, Simon as well as Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, Brittany Howard, and The Roots.
The musical performances will be combined with a three-hour primetime special which will feature various live sketches which will see both past and present SNL cast members, special guests, and retrospectives celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary.
Simon’s appearance at the show will be a special moment as a rare live appearance as he has largely retired from performing live due to his severe hearing loss in 2023. The ‘You Can Call Me Al’ hitmaker has hosted the show four times and has appeared as the musical guest 13 times.
SNL alumnus Jimmy Fallon will be on hosting duties, while Lorne Michaels and Mark Ronson are the show’s executive producers. The concert will take place at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
The show will also include the previously announced artists Backstreet Boys, Bad Bunny, Brandi Carlile, Chris Martin, David Byrne, Jack White, Robyn, Arcade Fire, Bonnie Raitt, DEVO, Eddie Vedder, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Mumford & Sons, Post Malone, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and The B-52s.
It was also recently announced that Dave Grohl would be making an appearance as well. His addition came as no surprise, seeing as he’s been the long-running show’s most frequent performer, having appeared as a musical guest a recording-breaking 15 times.
SNL has been celebrating its 50th anniversary, launching its 50th season in late September. Among the content planned and already rolled out for its 50th anniversary are the feature film Saturday Night, a Questlove-helmed documentary focusing on the programming’s music and more.
On AHHCade, PNAU are leaning fully into emotion for their upcoming seventh studio album.
“There’s something deeply connected about music and the path we’ve been on,” PNAU’s Nick Littlemore shares while introducing the new project, which is scheduled to arrive July 31 through Sydney independent label etcetc, under the TMRW Music umbrella.
“We’re creating songs from the heart,” he says. “Even though these tracks are built with electronics and technology, at their core they are emotional expressions. Peter, myself and everyone we worked with wanted to create a feeling of home, whether that’s on the dancefloor or inside the listener’s mind.”
The upcoming record includes the recently unveiled “Tu Corazon (Your Heart)” featuring Mexican rock band The Warning, as well as the energetic new track “Nirvana” with EARTHGANG and sadMONTH, which officially dropped today, May 8.
“Nirvana” pairs PNAU with Atlanta duo EARTHGANG and also marks the first collaboration with sadMONTH, the new creative venture from Littlemore alongside Toronto artist Dom Dias.
Littlemore describes the song as “the beginning of an entirely new chapter. It’s intense, chaotic and taps into a future version of punk electronic music. Expect something restless, rhythmic and completely untamed.”
EARTHGANG added: “With ‘Nirvana,’ we locked into this euphoric and elevated energy together with PNAU and rode that electro wave. Huge love to everyone involved in bringing this track to life and making it hit the way it does.”
Representatives for the group have also hinted that additional unexpected collaborations will be revealed in the near future.
PNAU, made up of longtime friends Littlemore and Peter Mayes, are following up their 2024 release Sambanova. Over the years, the duo have built a career filled with major records and industry recognition. Their global breakthrough came after teaming up with Elton John for the 2012 remix album Good Morning to the Night, which reached No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. They later reunited with Elton for the 2021 remix Cold Heart featuring Dua Lipa, creating one of the biggest worldwide hits of the decade.
To celebrate the release of the new album, PNAU will launch the Australian run of their Nirvana Tour 2026 next month. The East Coast regional dates begin June 19 at Gilligan's in Cairns before finishing July 4 at Woodport Hotel in Erina.
Stream “Nirvana” below.
