John Sebastian & Jimmy Vivino: Legendary Artists

November 6, 2026 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM (EST)

Description

Over four decades the contributions of JOHN SEBASTIAN have become a permanent part of our American musical fabric.

His group The Lovin’ Spoonful played a major role in the mid-’60s rock revolution, but what leader, singer and songwriter Sebastian had in mind was actually a counter-revolution. “We were grateful to the Beatles for reminding us our rock & roll roots,” John explains, “but we wanted to cut out the English middlemen, so to speak, and get down to making this new music as an ‘American’ band.”

This the Lovin’ Spoonful did like nobody before or since, putting their first seven singles into the Top 10. This was unprecedented, and utterly unthinkable at the height of Beatlemania. At first they’d taken older material from blues, country, folk and jug band sources – what we now term “roots music” – and made it sound modern. Then, in a series of original songs composed and sung by John Sebastian, they did the reverse, creating thoroughly modern music that sounded like it contained the entire history of American music. Which it did.

You know the songs by heart: “Do You Believe In Magic?” “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice.” “Daydream.” “Younger Girl.” “Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?” “Summer In The City.” “Rain On The Roof.” “Nashville Cats.” “Six O’Clock.” “Darling Be Home Soon.” “Younger Generation.” These songs did more than simply answer the British invasion, they carried the musical tradition into the future.

Perhaps because it has been the product of heart and soul and history, the oldest song in the Sebastian catalog is as fresh and vital as the song he’s about to write tomorrow. That’s why you still hear his music everywhere – in movies, on television, in cover versions and samples – and why it’s always welcome. John is also a welcome media presence; his commentary, insights and anecdotes and stories are regularly featured in print, radio,  TV and  lm documentary projects. John Sebastian is not only a master musician, writer and performer, he remains one of the best ambassadors American music has ever had.

Jimmy Vivino
Jimmy Vivino serves as the Music Director on the TBS late night show “CONAN.” Vivino has been a consistent element in O’Brien’s late night career, starting with the first episode of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” in September 1993. In June of 2008 Vivino moved from New York to Los Angeles and worked as Music Director/guitarist/arranger on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” “The Legally Prohibited from Being on Television Tour” and currently leads “Jimmy Vivino and The Basic Cable Band” on “CONAN.”

When not appearing weeknights on TBS, Vivino divides his time between recording sessions and live gigs throughout the country. In addition to his solo work, Vivino plays with The Prisoners of 2nd Avenue, Rumble & Twang with Lee Rocker, The Barn Burners, The Rekooperators, and the successful Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux. Vivino has also recorded and played live with such legends as Johnnie Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Levon Helm and Al Kooper. Earlier in his career Jimmy got his start producing playing and arranging for such artists as Phoebe Snow, Laura Nyro, John Sebastian and Donald Fagen. Summer 2014, Jimmy headlined the King Biscuit Festival with his other band, Jimmy Vivino & the Black Italians.

A musician all his life, Jimmy also devotes his time to organizations that mean something to him. The Notes for Notes benefit, sponsored by Seymour Duncan pickups provides young people the opportunity to explore, create, and record music for free. Recently, Jimmy has also gotten involved with The Boot Campaign, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to cultivating awareness, promoting patriotism and providing assistance to military personnel and their families.