Bleachers Subs in for Roddy Ricch in First ‘SNL’ Musical Performance of 2022

Jack Antonoff does so much work writing and producing music for the biggest pop stars working today that It’s easy to forget that he’s a performer himself. After Roddy Ricch had to drop out of Saturday Night Live due to COVID-19 exposure, Antonoff’s band Bleachers stepped in to take the rapper’s place alongside host Ariana DeBose from West Side Story.

In their opening performance, Bleachers took the stage to perform “How Dare You Want More,” the lead single from their latest album Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night. Antonoff and crew rocked the stage while paying tribute to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with their fashion choices and  their prominent use of saxophone, injecting as much joy as possible into their performance. Bleachers may have been a relatively last-minute addition, but the indie-pop band did the most with the chance they were given.

Following the news that Ricch’s performance would occur at a later date, SNL announced that Bleachers would be filling in.  “The hardest attempt to date of taking the sadness out of Saturday night,” the band shared on social media, adding, “bleachers are the first musical guest of 2022 on [SNL]”

The move comes amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, and It Isn’t the first time that SNL has had to reshuffle their musical plans due to the pandemic. For the final episode of 2021, Charli XCX was set to be the musical guest on Paul Rudd‘s episode but had to cancel her set due to a member of her team’s positive test. The singer was scheduled to perform her latest single “New Shapes” with Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek. Her appearance was called off within hours of the episode’s start time, leaving no musical guest, so at least the variety show had a few days to find a replacement this time.