Late Night Performances
Metallica Perform “Enter Sandman” on Super Bowl Edition of Colbert: Watch
Metallica rocked a special Super Bowl edition of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Sunday night. The metal masters offered up a rousing rendition of “Enter Sandman”, set against a special backdrop that paid homage to the band’s recent concert history. Entering their 40th year as a band, Metallica sounded as strong as ever on the late-night performance, with frontman James Hetfield delivering a powerful vocal. The metal icons played in front of a stack of speaker cabinets from various tours and special concerts of the past 20 years, including shows at Yankee Stadium (“Mariano Rivera Day”), Oracle Park (San Francisco Giants “Metallica Night”), and the band’s own 2013 Orion Music + More Festival in Detroit, among others. The pandemic forced Metallica off the road in 2020, but the metal le...
Phoebe Bridgers Guitar Smashes Her Way Into SNL Lore With Epic Two Song Performance: Watch
Phoebe Bridgers proved to be one of the few bright spots of 2020, as the talented Los Angeles-based songwriter managed to become a full-blown superstar while hunkered down in quarantine. She released one of the year’s best albums with Punisher. She then proceeded to deliver memorable covers of Radiohead, John Prine, and Goo Goo Dolls; launched her very own record label; made a music video with Phoebe Waller-Bridge; and recorded and released another collection of music with Copycat Killer EP. All the while, she masterfully navigated the limitations of performing remotely, setting a standard that few have been able to match (see: her bathtub performance on Kimmel, her karaoke rendition of “Kyoto” on Colbert, and her NPR Tiny Desk set, to name just a few). For her efforts, Bridgers was honore...
Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell Perform Pro-Choice Song “The Problem” on Fallon: Watch
Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell have become the premier power couple in country rock, not just by releasing great music, but also by speaking their minds even as it alienated some parts of their fanbase. Now, the dynamic duo have taken their convictions to a national late-night audience, inviting The Tonight Show into their stained-glass studio for a performance of their new abortion-rights single “The Problem”. The song originally dropped in September with intimate lyrics that explored the dizzying headspace of a young woman who sees her life spinning out of control. Then on January 22nd, which also happened to be the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Shires reworked the track with a star-studded crew of women into “Our Problem”. But for her appearance on Fallon, Shires reverted b...
Pa Salieu Makes US TV Debut Performing “Frontline” on Fallon: Watch
British-Gambian rapper Pa Salieu has crossed the Atlantic to make his US TV debut with a performance of “Frontline” on Fallon. The 23-year-old MC gained international attention for his 2020 mixtape Send Them to Coventry, which built a musical bridge between UK drill and Afrobeats. He’s got a fresh take on two genres on the rise, and as his Tonight Show appearance revealed, he sells his music with a wonderfully theatrical presentation. He began “Frontline” with a recreation of his Send Them to Coventry cover art, which shows him as a kind of felled Godzilla, lying in city streets and using a building as a pillow. From there, he treated the Tonight Show stage as a set for a one-shot music video, strolling through a Gambian market, leaning through the windows of...
The War on Drugs Perform “Arms Like Boulders” on Colbert: Watch
Live shows may temporarily be on pause, but they’ve hardly been forgotten. In fact, The War on Drugs recently released a live album titled LIVE DRUGS comprised of concert recordings from throughout their career. (The 10-track effort was reportedly “culled from over 40 hard drives,” so you can be sure the concert nostalgia was intense.) On Friday, The War on Drugs supported their new effort by playing “Arms Like Boulders” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The remote performance saw Adam Granduciel, David Hartley, Robbie Bennett, Charlie Hall, Anthony LaMarca all play along on guitar, while Jon Natchez handled a mandolin. Replay the performance down below. Editors’ Picks “Arms Like Boulders” originally appeared on The War on Drugs’ debut album, Wagonwheel Blues, as well as th...
The Avett Brothers Perform “I Go To My Heart” on Fallon: Watch
On Thursday night, The Avett Brothers supported their new album The Third Gleam, with an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. For their performance of “I Go To My Heart”, the trio of Seth and Scott Avett and Bob Crawford appeared remotely from a balcony inside of the Belk Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina. Catch the replay below. The Avett Brothers are also offering a behind-the-scenes look of their Fallon performance on our Instagram page. Head here to follow along. Released back in August 2020, The Third Gleam serves as the third installment in the band’s ongoing Gleam series, following the initial Gleam EP from 2006 and the 2008 Second Gleam project. To continue the spirit of these releases, The Avett Brothers revisit...
Steve Earle Honors to Justin Townes Earle with “Harlem River Blues” Cover on Kimmel: Watch
Earlier this week, Steve Earle honored his late son, Justin Townes Earle, with the release of the covers album J.T. In what was surely an emotional moment for the country legend, the surviving Earle performed his rendition of “Harlem River Blues” on Thursday’s Kimmel. JTE passed away over the summer after an accidental drug overdose. As he mourned, his father decided to record J.T. because it was “the only way I knew to say goodbye.” Backed by his band The Dukes on Kimmel, Earle’s performance of “Harlem River Blues” was thus something of a public eulogy for his departed son. Watch the replay below. 100% of the artist advances and royalties earned from sales of J.T. will be donated to a trust Justin’s three-year-old daughter with Jenn Earle, Etta St. James. [embedded content] Rela...
Dua Lipa Performs Future Nostalgia Songs on Saturday Night Live: Watch
Dua Lipa served as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live’s Christmas episode. The UK pop singer supported her brilliant sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, with choreographed performances of “Levitating” and “Don’t Start Now”. Additionally, she appeared in a sketch alongside host Kristen Wiig about U.S.O. performers during World War 2. Watch it all below. Future Nostalgia was our fifth favorite album and “Don’t Start Now” was our ninth favorite song of 2020. Earlier this month, Dua Lipa further supported the album’s release with her first-ever NPR Tiny Desk concert. She also recently appeared on The Tonight Show and joined Jimmy Fallon for a duet of “Christmas Is All Around Me”. [embedded content] [embedded content] [embedded content] Related You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are ...
The Bird and the Bee Cover “Little Drummer Boy” with Medium Drummer Man Dave Grohl: Stream
Over eight crazy nights, Dave Grohl and his pal Greg Kurstin performed eight covers of Jewish musicians in celebration of Hanukkah. With the Festival of Lights concluding on Thursday, Grohl and Kurstin turned their attention to Christmas and linked up with Kurstin’s The Bird and the Bee bandmate Inara George for a cover of “Little Drummer Boy” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “The Little Drummer Boy” was composed by the music teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. Apart from the melody, the song is instantly recognizable for the rat-a-tat-tat rhythm played by the titular little drummer boy. But medium-sized drummer man Dave Grohl had other ideas. He kicked off the song with a flourish before settling into a driving rock and roll groove, riding the cymbals and keeping the bass drum thumping. Kurst...
The Voidz and Dua Lipa Perform, Paul McCartney Guests on Fallon: Watch
Thursday night was a busy one over on The Tonight Show, as Jimmy Fallon welcomed Paul McCartney, The Voidz, and Dua Lipa. Each musician was there in a different capacity, with Macca serving as the featured interview. The Beatle discussed his new album, McCartney III, which came together while he was locked down with the family of his eldest daughter, Mary. “I’d have a drink before dinner… and the kids are running around. And once one of them would say, ‘What’d you do at the studio today?’ And I’d say, ‘Ah,’” the legendary artist recalled. “Pull my phone out, get the little boom box going, and I’d play it to them. So they got a preview of the whole album a day at a time. It made it kind of more fun, really. It was like I was just making it for them.” He also touched briefly on a...
Lana Del Rey Performs “Let Me Love You Like a Woman” on Fallon: Watch
Lana Del Rey performed her new single “Let Me Love You Like a Woman” live for the first time during a Monday night appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The pre-recorded performance was filmed at a rustic dive bar and saw Del Rey accompanied by a four-piece band and a trio of backing singers. Catch the replay below. “Let Me Love You Like a Woman” serves as the first single from Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club, which was recently pushed back until the spring due to production delays. To tide fans over, the singer is planning to drop a new album of American standards for Christmas. Over the summer, Del Rey published her first poetry collection, titled Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass. Featuring music by her frequent collaborator and bon...
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunite on SNL for First Public Performance in Four Years: Watch
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band hit the stage on Saturday Night Live this evening for their first public performance together in nearly four years. Coming in support of their new album Letter to You, Bruce and the band delivered rousing performances of “Ghosts” and “I’ll See You In My Dreams”. Catch the replay below. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, not everyone from the E Street Band was present for the performance. Earlier in the week, Springsteen announced that founding bassist Garry Tallent and violinist Soozie Tyrell would be absent due to “restrictions and concerns.” In Tallent’s place, Springsteen enlisted Jack Daley of the Disciples of Soul. On Thursday night, Springsteen appeared on The Tonight Show and discussed a range of topics, including his earliest g...
