What happens when you mix Post Malone, the surviving members of Nirvana, and Saturday Night Live‘s 50th birthday bash? Pure rock chaos.
Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear teamed up with the genre-hopping superstar at SNL50: The Homecoming Concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, delivering a blistering take on “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Adam Sandler hyped up the crowd by introducing the group as “Post Nirvana,” and honestly, the name kinda works.
Post Malone and Nirvana at the #SNL50 Anniversary concert. pic.twitter.com/0rwqRBHMMx
— Pop Truther (@poptruther) February 15, 2025
Posty has been flying the Nirvana flag for years, ever since his 2020 pandemic-era livestream, where he shredded through classics like “Come As You Are” and “Lithium” alongside Blink-182’s Travis Barker. Even Grohl gave him props back then, calling his tribute “super cool.” That performance is finally dropping on vinyl for Record Store Day in April, giving fans a chance to own some all-star Nirvana covers.
This wasn’t the first time in recent months Grohl, Novoselic, and Smear have hit the stage together. They recently played FireAid with an all-star lineup of guest vocalists – including St. Vincent, Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, and Violet Grohl (yes, Dave’s daughter). Before that, they rocked The Art Of Elysium charity gig in 2020 with Beck and Violet on vocals.
Love Live Music?
Get the latest Live Music news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
The SNL50 concert was packed with other huge moments: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and The Roots covering Tom Petty’s “The Waiting”, David Byrne jamming with Arcade Fire and Robyn, and even a partial Fugees reunion with Lauryn Hill.
But one of the funniest highlights came in the form of Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer (as their old-school music teacher characters, Marty Culp and Bobbi Mohan-Culp) doing a ridiculous cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”. The crowd lost it as the duo struggled to keep straight faces while turning the rap diss track into a hilariously over-the-top cabaret number.
But for rock fans, seeing Nirvana rise again – this time with Post Malone leading the charge—was a moment for the ages.
