Live at 9:30 Set for U.S. Public Television Launch
Janson Media today announced the release of Live at 9:30 to U.S. public television stations nationwide. The new twelve-hour series is a modern variety show highlighting the diverse talent that passes through the venue Rolling Stone and Billboard magazines have repeatedly honored as ‘the best live music club’ in the USA. Each one-hour episode will be a whirlwind of music discovery, featuring performances by hot, new acts and legendary favorites. Much more than a performance show, the program will also feature documentary segments that will delve into compelling stories about the artists, comedians reflecting on music, and short films commissioned from award-winning documentarians and journalists. Regular contributors include NPR"s Bob Boilen (host of All Songs Considered), comedian Hannibal Buress, Bravo"s Jill Kargman, Henry Rollins and special surprise guests. The production team includes art direction by Wayne White, creator of Pee Wee"s Playhouse, and the series being edited at Lorne Michaels" Broadway Video.
U.S. public television has a proud history of airing incredible live music programs, from In Performance at the White House to Austin City Limits. It"s a genre no one does better, and now there is a new player in that space, bringing to viewers a show the likes of which has never been seen before on public television. Designed to bring the coveted 18–35 demographic to public television, Live at 9:30 is put together with help from some of the biggest names in music, including NPR Music, the world famous 9:30 Club, and an unmatched bench of musical, comedic and filmmaking talent. Cinematically filmed and directed with the most high-tech equipment on the market—with some shows being covered by up to 20 cameras, including a ‘first of its kind’ cable-cam — Live at 9:30 is innovative, groundbreaking, visually stunning and full of a ‘who"s who’ in popular music and comedy. It"s a modern day variety show, assembled by an all-star cast, and featuring world class talent. Consisting mostly of exciting performance footage and a peek behind the curtain at the nation"s best music venue, Live at 9:30 is a modern mix of Later With Jools Holland and Austin City Limits, and promises to be a show unlike any other: energetic, innovative, eclectic and passionate.
'We think the show is the perfect program to capitalize on both the younger viewers drawn to public television shows like Downton Abbey and Sherlock, as well as the NPR Music audience, and to play well with existing music programs such as Artist"s Den and Soundstage,' said producer Michael Holstein. 'While this is definitely not your mother"s PBS, it"s also a natural progression in the incredible arts programming the system has made available to loyal viewers and supporters.' 'We know this is something very different for public television, but we think that forward-thinking content executives will want to try it in their schedules,' said Stephen Janson of Janson Media. 'After all, public television belongs to America's millennial generation too.'
The first three episodes of Season One of Live at 9:30 kick off with a diverse powerhouse group of artists, including: Garbage, Ibeyi, Misterwives, El Vy, Leon Bridges, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Frank Turner, MSMR, Tove Lo, Cold War Kids, Youth Lagoon and Jess Glynne. Additional artists confirmed for Season One include: The Arcs, Vance Joy, X-Ambassadors, Grace Potter, Alessia Cara, Shakey Graves, Ani DiFranco, Mike Snow, Troye Sivan, Kurt Vile, Melanie Martinez, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Ben Harper, Grace Potter, The English Beat and more.
‘We want something for everybody,’ said Holstein. ‘Maybe you"ll tune in because you love Garbage, and you"ll discover Ibeyi.’
Satellite feeds begin in late May and station airings are expected to commence in early June, running for six weeks. Six additional episodes will become available to public television stations in September of this year. For more information visit the official Live at 9:30 website, designed by Squarespace, the title sponsor of the series. Additional sponsors include Shinola Detroit, Lagunitas Brewers, and Destination DC.
To read the fascinating back story about how the show was created, read Emily Codik's extensive Washington Post article. Jon Blistein's Rolling Stone feature story about the show can be found here.
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