The turnstile has made its Saturday evening live debuted last night, becoming the first hardcore band to take the late-night stage in 45 years. The evening also saw the Baltimore band share Studio 8H with an unexpected performer: Taylor Swift, who presented host and “Patient Zero” music video star Dakota Johnson with a birthday cake during her monologue. (Johnson introduced Swift as his “literal therapist.”) Watch Turnstile perform “BIRDS” and an “I CARE/DULL” medley, and check out Swift’s surprise appearance below.
Turnstile is the second artist to perform SNLThe 52nd season of , which debuted last week with host Jalen Brunson and musical guest Katseye. Next week, Rosalía will perform alongside host Shane Gillis, and Gracie Abrams is scheduled to perform a show on October 31 alongside the host and Obsession star India Navarrette. Turnstile, meanwhile, will end the month with a North American tour that will see them stop in St. Louis, Austin, Las Vegas and more over the next few months. The run culminates with a set at the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles in November.
Swift appeared on SNL several times during his career, most recently in 2023 to feature musical guest Ice Spice. The singer’s most recent performance as a musical guest was in 2021, when she performed her ten-minute extended cut of “All Too Well” to support the release of Red: Taylor’s version. She released her latest album A Showgirl’s Life: The Encore—a luxury edition of 2025 The life of a showgirl with four new songs, on September 25 before the VMAs, where she received the first MTV VMA Artist Director Honors.
The last time a hardcore band handled SNL’s guest music slot was in 1981, when a FEAR performance reportedly caused about $20,000 in damage to the NBC studios at Rockefeller Center. (In a 2009 Citizen interview, frontman Lee Ving disputed that figure, saying it was closer to $500,000.)
Revisit Lawrence Burney’s 2025 cover, Turnstile Blew Up. And now ?
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