About the Nite Show

The Nite Show was a weekly, half-hour late night talk show that aired Saturday nights at 11:30 on WABI TV5/Bangor; 10:30 on FOX23/Portland; 11:00 on NBC 16/Presque Isle; and late night Saturdays at 1 a.m. on CBS 13/Portland. Maine’s only local, late-night talk show, the show was based on the formats made famous by Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Conan O’ Brien. The show originates from Husson University’s Gracie Theatre in Bangor, and – just like national late night talk shows – was produced before a live studio audience. The Nite Show with Danny Cashman has routinely ranked as the #1 Saturday late night television show in all of Eastern Maine.

A Maine Tradition

In 1997, The Nite Show became Bangor’s first late night television talk show. Airing on Bangor’s then- WB affiliate, The Nite Show gained an impressive following by featuring interesting local guests, talented musicians and performers, and a unique blend of comedy that attracted viewers of all ages.

After going off the air in 1999, The Nite Show returned to Bangor’s UPN affiliate in 2001 for another year of guests, music, and comedy.

After nearly 150 new shows aired in Bangor and Augusta over more than five years, The Nite Show signed off in 2002. The Nite Show returned again (see a pattern here?) in 2010 with new ideas, new techniques, and a renewed desire to make people laugh, until its final airing in April of 2025.

Host Dan Cashman was joined by an all-star house band led by trumpeter Brian Nadeau. Brian Nadeau & The Nite Show Band is made up of some of Bangor’s most well-known jazz musicians – Nadeau, Mike Borja (drums), Bob Roman (bass), David Clarke (guitar), Steve Orlofsky (sax), Jim Winters (trombone) and Lincoln Blake (keyboard).

Biographies

Dan Cashman

At the age of 19, Old Town native Dan Cashman started a weekly local late-night television talk show on Bangor’s WB affiliate, modeled after late-night talk shows hosted by Johnny Carson and David Letterman. Dan created, hosted, sold, wrote, and booked guests for “The Nite Show.” The show ran on the WB affiliate and later Bangor’s UPN affiliate for five years. After the first 90 (of 135 total) shows and countless guests, Dan left the show and spent a summer working at the “Imus in the Morning” show at WFAN radio and MSNBC television in New York City.

Dan graduated from the University of Maine in May of 2000 and began working in radio, serving as promotions director and later program director of Z107.3. While at the radio station, Dan hosted a daily show from 10-3 and earned more than a half-dozen awards for excellence in creativity from the Maine Association of Broadcasters. Dan also used his time at the radio station to participate in, and organize, a number of fundraisers to benefit local food pantries, community action programs, the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

In December of 2005, Dan left radio to serve as Assistant Press Secretary for Maine Governor John E. Baldacci. Dan left the Governor’s Office in August of 2009 to start Cashman Communications, and eventually return to television as the host of “The Nite Show” once again in October of 2010.

Brian Nadeau & The Nite Show Band

Brian Nadeau & The Nite Show Band prides itself in being extremely versatile, playing a wide range of jazz, swing, pop and rock.

The band works as a trio, quartet, quintet, sextet all the way up to a nine-piece band with vocals. On The Nite Show, the band was normally a quintet, with piano, bass, drums, trumpet, and guitar represented each week. The Nite Show‘s theme song, “Nite Time Tune” was written by Brian Catell and nominated for a New England EMMY Award for Outstanding Musical Composition/Arrangement in 2012. Bob Roman was also nominated for a New England EMMY Award in the same category in 2014 for his composition of “Call Me, Jimmy” on classroom instruments – The Nite Show‘s second musical invite to Jimmy Fallon to be a guest on our show. In total, Brian Nadeau & The Nite Show Band has earned 3 New England EMMY Nominations.