‘SNL’: Gary Clark Jr. Performances Make a Splash on Social Media

Saturday Night Live got a taste of the blues during Gary Clark Jr.’s performances on tonight’s episode.

The long-running NBC variety sketch series featured the Austin native bringing his blues, rock and soul music fusion to the stage. The singer stopped by SNL on the heels of the release of his latest album, This Land, featuring the song of the same name and “Pearl Cadillac.”

Fans of the singer took to Twitter to compliment his style and sound during his performance, also celebrating a rocker stopping by the show.

“I love Gary Clark Jr.,” one user mused.

“Yaasss! Gary Clark Jr is amazing!” Another Twitter user exclaimed.

Other viewers were not fans of the performance, taking to Twitter to criticize the singer’s looks and criticizing his music.

“Mute never sounds better than during an [SNL] musical guest,” one user wrote.

“Wonder if Gary Clark Jr. is a Prince fan? #LowLyingFruit,” another user commented.

“I know I’m old because I never know the bands on [SNL],” a third user commented.

Ahead of the performance, Clark was featured in a recent Billboard profile released Friday where he discussed how the racism he faced living as a black man in the state of Texas influenced his new album, set to be released March 1.

“I’ve finally found my voice,” Clark told the outlet of the new album, which his manager, Scooter Weintraub, teased could be “Gary’s tipping point album, to be considered among D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar and [Kendrick Lamar’s] To Pimp a Butterfly. Those great African-American statements.”

Following his visit to SNL, the singer will be hitting the road for a headlining tour, including a stop at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

“I play shows and see all types of different faces,” he told the outlet, “then some just scurry back to their own thing. I say, ‘Let’s keep it connected. Let’s not leave [that sense of togetherness] at the venue.’”

When discussing the title track of his new album, Clark told Rolling Stone this was “the most important song” he’s ever written.

“I wanted every note and lyric to mean something,” he told the publication. “With the records I’ve made before, there’s so much emphasis on guitar: We’ll just play a badass guitar solo, and no one cares about the lyrics. That’s not what I got into it for. I like Quincy Jones. I like Stevie Wonder. I like Ray Charles. I like Cab Calloway’s arrangements. I like bridges, pre-choruses. That’s something I never really paid attention to.”

Saturday Night Live airs weekly at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC