Later…with Jool Holland is a show that could not exist in the United States.  The sorry state of music in these the Taints is such that only those music acts shoved down our throats via the Dark Sith Lord known as Top 40 can be shown on TeeVee (see Blackeyed Peas, Miley, Jonas Bros.). 

Not so with Later.  Each episode has an eclectic mix of five or six musical acts playing in a circular “stage”.  And, one by one, each plays a song.  Some get to play a second song and bigger acts may play a third.

But the key here is ECLECTIC.  Just look at some of the acts that played on a single episode:

(10.10.08): Coldplay / The Hold Steady / SIA / Glen Campbell / Amy Lavere / John Mellencamp / Cage The Elephant

Half the acts I’ve never heard of and what the fuck is Glen Campbell doing with Coldplay in 2008??

And then the next week we get:

(17.10.08): Tom Jones / Snow Patrol / Eliza Carthy / Friendly Fires / Camille O\’Sullivan / Stephen Stills

Crazy, but awesome.

Here’s a quasi-random sampling:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUYQMslOobw&hl=en_US&fs=1&border=1&w=500&h=405]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYEU91d8ngc&hl=en_US&fs=1&border=1&w=500&h=405]

If you like to discover new acts or just want to see the acts you’re already a fan of AND (big AND) you have deep, deep, deep cable channel Ovation, you must check out Later…with Jools Holland.