Vampire Weekend were the musical guests on Saturday Night Live this weekend. They did two tracks off their new album Only God Was Above Us, “Gen-X Cops” and “Capricorn.” It was the band’s fourth appearance on the show, though their first in nearly a decade — they were previously on it in 2008, 2010, and 2013. A bunch of other musicians were along for the ride, including close collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid. Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson wore NY sports team shirts during the goodnights.
Former cast member Maya Rudolph was this episode’s host. She performed a “Vogue”-inspired house song during her monologue about how she’s a “mother,” she played Beyoncé doing Hot Ones (which she previously did in 2021), and she recited some lyrics to M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” in a pre-taped sketch about picking a kid up from a sleepover. And Michael Che told a Miss Teen USA/Drake joke during Weekend Update.
Watch all that below.
Next week, Sabrina Carpenter will close out the 49th season of SNL as musical guest opposite Jake Gyllenhaal.