Celebrated hip-hop live act the Roots have reportedly just announced their intention to quit touring for a permanent gig as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The move will occur when Jimmy Fallon takes over for current Late Night host Conan O’Brien, who is taking the reins from Jay Leno at the Tonight Show.
Videos by American Songwriter
Celebrated hip-hop live act the Roots have reportedly just announced their intention to quit touring for a permanent gig as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The move will occur when Jimmy Fallon takes over for current Late Night host Conan O’Brien, who is taking the reins from Jay Leno at the Tonight Show.
News of the Roots’ new venture began to spread after a YouTube video of Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson featured the drummer discussing the show in their plans for the future. Confusion as to whether or not the band would actually appear on the show arose when the video was quickly pulled.
The Philadelphia group has since confirmed the rumors, exciting some fans who will be able to watch the Roots nightly and angering others who wish the band would simply continue doing what they do best: touring and writing. ?uestlove did his best to explain, saying “Yeah its hard to make this announcement, cause its not like we wanted to pull the heartstrings on some ‘this is our last tour,’ cause we will forever do gigs..”
Fans and skeptics alike can see both Fallon and the Roots in their new Late Night digs starting June 2009.
