Despite NBC renewing Late Night with Seth Meyers and locking in the host until 2028, budget cuts are poised to remove a key element of the late night format — the house band.
Seth Meyers is returning to the desk for a 12th season this fall, but he’ll be without the 8G Band, which is led by Fred Armisen, SNL alum and longtime friend of Meyers. Other notable members include Seth Jabour and Syd Butler of Brooklyn’s Les Savy Fav. The news was revealed in a Vulture interview with the show’s associate musical director, Eli Janney, who is also part of the 8G Band.
“Sadly, it’s the reality of broadcast and a shrinking market — streaming eating into this, and YouTube eating into that,” Janney revealed. “Budgets everywhere have been cut and cut and cut… Music gets devalued.”
The band has been a presence on Late Night with Seth Meyers for all 11 seasons the show has been on the air so far. Over the years, they’ve welcomed artists like St. Vincent, Tool’s Danny Carey, and Turnstile’s David Fang to take turns sitting in with the 8G Band.
“In the end, NBC was adamant about where they wanted the budget to go,” Janney continued. Going forward, the band will reportedly continue to “make music” for the show when needed, but the members won’t be on hand to play anything live.
News of widespread NBC layoffs ranging between 50 and 100 employees broke in January. In the Vulture interview, Janney said the crew who worked with the 8G Band will also be losing their roles.