Arcade Fire returned to Saturday Night Live on May 10 to perform new songs from their upcoming album.
The Canadian quintet — led by frontman Win Butler and his wife, Régine Chassagne — took the stage at Studio 8H ahead of their forthcoming seventh studio album, Pink Elephant.
Arcade Fire opened their set with the album’s title track and closed with the new single “Year of the Snake.”
Pink Elephant will mark the band’s first album since 2022’s We, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and climbed to the summit of the Top Rock Albums chart.
The forthcoming 10-track album was recorded at Butler and Chassagne’s Good News Recording Studio in New Orleans and is set for release this spring through Columbia Records. Described as a “cinematic, mystical punk” effort, the album promises a sonic odyssey exploring themes of light and darkness, inner beauty, and the “perception of the individual.”
The release also marks Arcade Fire’s first since multiple former fans accused Butler of sexual misconduct in 2022. The frontman denied that any of the encounters were nonconsensual, but issued an apology “to anyone who I have hurt with my behavior.”
The SNL appearance was the band’s first major television performance since the allegations came to light.
Saturday’s episode marked Arcade Fire’s sixth appearance on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show. They made their SNL debut in 2007 during an episode hosted by Rainn Wilson. In 2010, they returned alongside host Scarlett Johansson, followed by a 2013 performance during Tina Fey’s episode. In 2012, they served as Mick Jagger’s backing band. The group returned again in 2018 with Bill Hader and most recently appeared in 2022 during an episode hosted by Benedict Cumberbatch.
SNL will close out its milestone 50th season on May 17, with Johansson returning as host and Bad Bunny as the musical guest.
Watch Arcade Fire’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
