Late Night With Seth Meyers is parting ways with its live band following a series of budget cuts.
The 8G Band, a key element of the show since its launch in 2014, will stop appearing on the after-hours NBC show from the autumn. Eli Janney, the combo’s keyboardist, told Vulture that the trio was informed in recent weeks that the band would cease to be a regular part of the program due to budget cuts.
Janney explained: “Basically Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker, the showrunner, brought us in in person to talk about it. They expressed their regret and frustration about it. They had been trying to work it out for months, but in the end NBC was adamant about where they wanted the budget to go. It’s not just the band; there’s a whole crew that works with the band, so there’s a lot of people employed. I think this was an easy way for them to cut the budget. Easy is not the right word.”
He continued: “There’s a lot of strong emotions. No one is happy about it. Seth has been a big champion of ours from the get-go. They couldn’t have been nicer about it. They told us probably about a month ago — maybe six weeks. That’s a good more than 90 days to figure out what’s next for us, so that’s pretty nice.”
Back in May, NBC announced it was renewing Late Night With Seth Meyers to 2028.
Several hosts have exited in the recent past, including James Corden, Conan O’Brien, Trevor Noah and Samantha Bee.
The 8G Band has been a key part of Meyers’ format for 11 seasons. Recruited by former Saturday Night Live member Fred Armisen, The 8G Band was made up of Janney, guitarist Seth Jabour and bass player Syd Butler. A different drummer appeared each week with Armisen made occasional appearances.
The decision comes amid larger budget cuts at NBC and across the industry. In January, NBC News laid off between 50 to 100 employees, and Paramount Global laid off 800 employees the following month.
NME has reached out to representatives from NBC for comment.
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