Brandi Carlile made her return to the Saturday Night Live stage, performing two songs from her eighth studio album, Returning to Myself, which she released just last week.

The celebrated singer-songwriter opened her set with “Church & State,” a song she co-wrote with Andrew Watt and twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth, reflecting on the theme of a “failing empire.”

Returning to Myself marks Carlile’s first solo release since 2021’s In These Silent Days. The album follows several years filled with collaborations—with artists like Elton John and Joni Mitchell—along with her work in the country supergroup The Highwomen, and her leadership roles in events such as Girls Just Wanna Weekend and her Looking Out Foundation.

“Everybody came out of Covid with all this toxic energy, including myself,” Carlile told Rolling Stone in a recent conversation. “I just wanted to explode onto the scene and accomplish and collaborate and be everywhere and do everything. And I think there’s been a little fallout from that. People pushed themselves to the limits of their mental health, in terms of what they were willing to do to make up for lost time.”

Appearing as the SNL musical guest for the fourth time, Carlile also performed “Human,” the second track on her new album.

Her last Saturday Night Live appearance was in early April, when she joined Elton John following the release of their joint album Who Believes in Angels?

Carlile’s upcoming The Human Tour in support of Returning to Myself will kick off in February on the U.S. East Coast before heading to Ireland, the U.K., and across Europe in the fall.