PAUL McCARTNEY CLOSES SNL50 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

ByBeatles Magazine

Feb 17, 2025 #Paul McCartney

February 16, 2025: SNL‘s 50th anniversary special featured performances from Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Lil Wayne, and more. The show was part of a three-hour special to celebrate SNL’s 50th season, broadcast on NBC and Peacock.

Paul McCartney closed Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary show with a medley of songs from The Beatles‘ iconic Abbey Road.

Paul’s band was:

Paul Wickens (vocals,keyboards,guitar,percussion)

Brian Ray (vocals, guitar, bass)

Rusty Anderson (vocals, guitar)

Abe Laboriel Jr (vocals, drums)

Kenji Fenton (saxophone)

Mike Davis (trumpet)

Paul Burton (trombone)

Introduced by Martin Short, Paul and his band performed three songs: ‘Golden Slumbers‘ into ‘Carry That Weight‘ and closing with ‘The End,’ the occasion marked Paul’s fifth time performing on SNL, and his first since 2012. McCartney previously performed on Saturday Night Live on 17 May 1980, 13 February 1993, 11 December 2010, and 15 December 2012. He was the show’s special guest on 15 February 2015, and made cameo appearances on 11 November 2006, 21 December 2013, and 19 December 2015.

The 50th anniversary special saw a range of musicians performing throughout. Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon opened the show with a rendition of Simon & Garfunkel‘s ‘Homeward Bound.’ Later on, Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard paid tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor with a cover of ‘Nothing Compares with You’.

Lil Wayne took the stage as the second-to-last musician to perform. Backed by Questlove and the Roots, the rapper played a medley of his own hits, including ‘Uproar’, ‘Lollipop’, ‘A Milli’ and more.