Is Saturday Night Live giving some of the biggest country music stars the cold shoulder? The long running sketch comedy show has always been known for showcasing modern musical talent just as much as its cast of comedic actors. Showrunner and creator, Lorne Michaels, used to book more unknown musical guests in the early stages of the show to give that raw and up-and-coming feel to the program. Nowadays, they mostly swing big and have guests like Sabrina Carpenter and Harry Styles. And you might remember that last year, Morgan Wallen was the musical guest on SNL, and caused quite the controversy when he walked off stage during the show’s signature sign-off (where the host and cast say goodnight before music plays and the credits roll). It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a year since Wallen said “Get me to God’s country,” and funny enough, Saturday Night Live made a light mention of it in their latest episode: thanks for the bday gift @nbcsnl pic.twitter.com/xdnZOfcEhn — SARAH SQUIRM (@SarahSquirm) March 9, 2026 Morgan Wallen’s appearance in last year’s March 29th episode is actually the last time that a country music star acted as the musical guest for SNL. Which got me thinking… how many country music artists have acted as the iconic show’s musical guest? And how many country greats haven’t ever been asked to join SNL for the week? Chris Stapleton has been a musical guest on numerous occasions, and has even appeared in a sketch on the show. Others like Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood have also played on the show multiple times. And there are some greats that have been a part of the show in the past – like Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Randy Travis. But there are even more big names that have surprisingly never been asked to be SNL‘s musical guest, and considering the show has been on air since 1975, it’s a real shame that some of these artists below never got the call: Country Acts & Who’ve Never Been An SNL Musical Guest Alan Jackson Reba McEntire Brooks & Dunn George Strait Shania Twain Alabama Miranda Lambert Kenny Chesney Darius Rucker/Hootie & The Blowfish Toby Keith Emmylou Harris Vince Gill Eric Church Johnny Cash (hosted in 1982, but wasn’t the musical guest) Clint Black Wynonna Judd Dierks Bentley There are some absolute country legends on that list, but the snub that surprises me the most is Reba McEntire. How has SNL not ever managed to get the “Fancy” singer on stage, with all of the projects that she’s always had going on in her career? Though there country music genre has been absent plenty of times in SNL‘s history, there have been moments where country is front and center. Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Willie Nelson and Tim McGraw have all hosted shows before, as has the incomparable Dolly Parton. And most of them pulled double duty (Garth most famously when he was the host and “Chris Gaines” was the musical guest). What country music artists should join SNL as musical guests in the near future? Season 51 of the sketch show is coming to a close in a couple of months, so it might have to be next season that country music breaks through once again. But I’d personally love to see Eric Church make his first appearance, and hey… it’s never too late to give Reba a call. While we’re here, let’s enjoy Sturgill Simpson’s defiant “Call To Arms” performance, arguably the greatest SNL musical performance of all time. The post The Biggest Country Music Stars Who Have Never Been A Musical Guest On ‘Saturday Night Live’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.