Most-Booked Acts

11 acts have been the musical guest on Saturday Night Live 6 or more times. Paul Simon has the most, with 11.

  1. Paul Simon: 11 nights, first on 20 November 1976, latest on 13 October 2018
  2. Foo Fighters: 10 nights, first on 2 December 1995, latest on 28 October 2023
  3. Coldplay: 8 nights, first on 7 April 2001, latest on 5 October 2024
  4. Arcade Fire: 7 nights, first on 24 February 2007, latest on 10 May 2025
  5. Beck: 7 nights, first on 11 January 1997, latest on 1 March 2014
  6. Eminem: 7 nights, first on 23 October 1999, latest on 18 November 2017
  7. Kanye West: 7 nights, first on 1 October 2005, latest on 29 September 2018
  8. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: 7 nights, first on 10 November 1979, latest on 15 May 2010
  9. James Taylor: 6 nights, first on 18 September 1976, latest on 13 November 1993
  10. Miley Cyrus: 6 nights, first on 5 October 2013, latest on 8 May 2021
  11. Randy Newman: 6 nights, first on 18 October 1975, latest on 22 October 1988

Every date, host and song title below is as this site's episode file has it, which is read from Wikipedia's season pages. A detail that comes from a note on one of those pages links the season page it was read from. The paragraphs run in the order of the list, most nights first.

Paul Simon

Paul Simon's first night credited as a musical guest, 20 November 1976, was one he also hosted. The notes on the season page have him singing "Still Crazy After All These Years" in a turkey costume, and playing "Here Comes the Sun" and "Homeward Bound" with George Harrison, whose part was pre-taped. He was host and musical guest again on 10 May 1986, when, per the season page, he performed "You Can Call Me Al" to start the show in place of an opening sketch and then delivered the "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!" line himself. On 15 March 1980 there was no announced guest host and no monologue, and the season page has Simon and James Taylor performing "Cathy's Clown" together. His latest night, 13 October 2018, was hosted by Seth Meyers. He performed "Can't Run But" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" with yMusic, and during the goodnights the crew had a birthday cake rolled out for him.

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters' first night was 2 December 1995, with Anthony Edwards hosting. On 19 May 2012, Mick Jagger's night as host, they played a medley of two songs with him, according to the season page. On 16 December 2017, with Kevin Hart hosting, they played "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" and then a medley of "Everlong", "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and "Linus and Lucy", and Alec Baldwin introduced the second performance (season page). They played "Times Like These" on 22 February 2003, when Christopher Walken hosted, and again on 7 November 2020, when Dave Chappelle did. Their latest night, 28 October 2023, was Nate Bargatze's; they were joined by H.E.R., and the season page notes that they had first been scheduled for the previous season, with host Jennifer Coolidge, until the writers strike cancelled the appearance.

Coldplay

Coldplay's first night, 7 April 2001, was hosted by Alec Baldwin, and they played "Yellow" and "Don't Panic". On 25 October 2008, with Jon Hamm hosting, they played "Viva La Vida", "Lost!", "Yellow" and "Lovers in Japan", the last of which, the season page says, was cut off. Their latest night, 5 October 2024, was Nate Bargatze's. Elyanna and Tini accompanied them on "We Pray", and the season page notes that the performance was excised from the episode's broadcast in the United Kingdom but remains intact on streaming platforms.

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire first played on 24 February 2007, with Rainn Wilson hosting. The season page says that after the broadcast the band performed "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Wake Up" for the studio audience. On 19 May 2012, when Mick Jagger hosted, they played "The Last Time" with him, and at the end of the show they performed a medley of the Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow" and "Ruby Tuesday" as a tribute to the departing Kristen Wiig (season page). On 17 March 2018, with Bill Hader hosting, they also appeared in the "CBC News Hour" sketch (season page). Their latest night, 10 May 2025, was Walton Goggins's.

Beck

Beck's first night, 11 January 1997, was hosted by Kevin Spacey, and the season page says he also appeared in the "Marijuana Doctor" sketch. On 9 January 1999, with Bill Paxton hosting, he appeared in a Behind the Music Fat Albert parody sketch (season page). Later hosts on his nights included Christina Ricci, Jennifer Garner, Tom Brady, on 16 April 2005, and Hugh Laurie. His latest night, 1 March 2014, was Jim Parsons's, and the season page credits J. Tillman with backing vocals and guitar for both of Beck's performances.

Eminem

Eminem's first night, 23 October 1999, was hosted by Norm Macdonald, and he was there with Dr. Dre: per the season page, Dr. Dre and Eminem performed "Forgot About Dre" in the night's second set. On 7 October 2000, the season premiere, with Rob Lowe hosting, he performed "Stan" with Dido and "The Real Slim Shady", and also appeared during Weekend Update (season page). He performed with Proof on 11 May 2002 and on 30 October 2004. His latest night, 18 November 2017, was Chance the Rapper's, and the season page notes that, contrary to the usual format, he performed a single medley of "Walk on Water", "Stan" and "Love the Way You Lie" with Skylar Grey.

Kanye West

Kanye West's first night, 1 October 2005, with Steve Carell hosting, is noted on the season page as the first episode of the show broadcast in high definition. On 29 September 2007, with LeBron James hosting, the season page says he freestyled during "Everything I Am", saying "I meant to mess up" and expressing surprise that NBC would have him back after his comments about George W. Bush during A Concert for Hurricane Relief (season page). On 13 February 2016, hosted by Melissa McCarthy, he and several of his collaborators also appeared in a pre-recorded Kyle Mooney film, "Kyle vs. Kanye" (season page). His latest night, 29 September 2018, was Adam Driver's. The season page says that Ariana Grande had been chosen as the musical guest but withdrew and was replaced by West, and that after the goodnights, wearing a Make America Great Again hat, he went off-script with his support for Donald Trump. That was discussed in the next episode, in the monologue and on Weekend Update.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers first played on 10 November 1979, with Buck Henry hosting, performing "Refugee" and "Don't Do Me Like That". Their other hosts included Howard Hesseman, Steve Martin, Kirstie Alley, Tom Hanks and John Goodman. On 20 May 1989, Martin's night, they played "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "Free Fallin'". Their latest night, 15 May 2010, was Alec Baldwin's: they played "I Should Have Known It" and "Jefferson Jericho Blues", and the season page notes that Petty also appeared in a Digital Short.

James Taylor

James Taylor's first night, 18 September 1976, was Lily Tomlin's. The season page says he sang "Shower the People", with backing vocals played from a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a cover of "(I'm a) Road Runner" with the saxophonist David Sanborn, and "Sweet Baby James". On 12 May 1979, with Michael Palin hosting, his opening monologue featured him performing "Johnnie Comes Back" (season page). On 23 January 1988, with Robin Williams hosting, the season page notes that "Lonesome Road" was a song Taylor had sung at John Belushi's funeral in 1982, and that the episode aired the day before what would have been Belushi's birthday (season page). His latest night, 13 November 1993, was Rosie O'Donnell's, and the notes on the season page add that he also appeared during the "Duets" sketch.

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus was host and musical guest on 5 October 2013, performing "Wrecking Ball" and an unplugged version of "We Can't Stop", and again on 3 October 2015, when the season page says the Flaming Lips were her backing band for her first performance. On 25 April 2020 she performed a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" with Andrew Watt on guitar, in an episode that, per the season page, had no on-air credited host, no monologue and no goodnights; Brad Pitt introduced her performance, a role normally reserved for the host. On 15 December 2018, with Matt Damon hosting, she shared the night with Mark Ronson, with whom she performed "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" and a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". Her latest night, 8 May 2021, was Elon Musk's, and the season page notes that she also appeared in the cold open, singing "Light of a Clear Blue Morning", originally performed by her godmother, Dolly Parton.

Randy Newman

Randy Newman's first night, 18 October 1975, in the show's first season, was hosted by Paul Simon, and he performed "Sail Away" (season page). On 21 January 1978, with Steve Martin hosting, members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sang backing vocals during his set, and the season page notes that the band in turn performed, with Martin accompanying them on banjo for one of the songs. On 26 February 1983 Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges hosted, and on 6 December 1986 the hosts were Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short. His latest night, 22 October 1988, was John Larroquette's, and the season page has Mark Knopfler performing with him.

The list and the numbers in the opening paragraph come from this site's episode file, and a night is counted as set out in how this site counts: an act counts once for each night it is listed as the musical guest, and a night with two acts counts once for each. Every act and every night is in the musical guests table, and corrections are welcome at info@snlroster.com.