Lester Holt’s Rock Band Sets Up Free NYC Gig

By Michael Malone
published

Holt and the Rough Cuts play Hill Country Barbecue in December

Lester Holt, anchor of NBC Nightly News
(Image credit: NBC News)

Lester Holt, NBC Nightly News anchor, plays a free performance with his rock band the Rough Cuts in New York on Sunday, December 3. The band plays Hill Country Barbecue Market in the Flatiron District and goes on at 7 p.m. 

Lester Holt and the Rough Cuts was founded during a holiday party for Dateline staff in 2017. Holt plays the bass guitar. The band plays classic rock and more modern fare. 

NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt averaged 6.7 million viewers the week of October 9, according to Nielsen, and 1.12 million in the 25-54 demo. Meghan Rafferty is the executive producer. 

The newscast turned 75 earlier this year. Holt became its anchor in 2015 after anchoring the weekend NBC Nightly News for eight years and co-anchoring Weekend Today for 12 years. 

Holt joined NBC News in 2000 and has been principal anchor of Dateline NBC since 2011. 

Michael Malone
Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.