Tag: National Public Radio

Anamaria Sayre | April 24, 2025 Grupo Frontera, which was headlining backyard bailes well before stadium shows, feels perfectly made for Tiny Desk. Beneath the glow of fluorescent office lights and backed against trinket-stuffed shelves, the match feels divinely ordained. Normally, jazzy vocal trills and norteño cumbia rhythms are star-crossed lovers, but not at the Tiny Desk. At the center of a pop-infused reinvigoration of traditional Mexican sounds, the members of Grupo Frontera are masters of unlikely pairings. Mega-producer and songwriter Edgar Barrera discovered Grupo Frontera at a quinceanera in his hometown, enthralled by the band’s authenticity. He encouraged the [See More…]

Nikki Birch | April 9, 2025 Nubya Garcia smiles as she lights her bespoke incense. Named for Odyssey, her 2024 album, the scent is meant to give the same multisensory experience that she enjoys while listening to or creating music. As the fragrance fills the NPR Music office, her powerful, yet delicate compositions take us on a tranquil journey. Garcia’s deeply rich tenor saxophone graces swelling strings and hypnotic grooves throughout this Tiny Desk. “Dawn” sets the stage and “Solstice” turns up the tempo, then the band crests the wave into “Clarity” and the album’s title track. Garcia’s been compared [See More…]

Maia Stern | March 13, 2025 Stephan Jenkins told me that he regularly watches Tiny Desk concerts, so when it came time for Third Eye Blind to play one of its own, the band took the opportunity seriously. Leading up to the show, Third Eye Blind played a handful of mellow gigs at smaller venues, stripping down its arrangements, blocking the stage with the same dimensions and leaning into the challenges and limitations of the Tiny Desk. This set starts at the beginning. “Slow Motion” and “Motorcycle Drive By” are early Third Eye Blind tracks; they may not have the [See More…]

Bobby Carter | March 5, 2025 Of the 30 million people who have watched Daniel Caesar’s Tiny Desk from 2018, plenty of them raved about the band, specifically the bass player. Little did we know that the young, unassuming musician named Saya Gray would be playing at the Desk seven years later, this time front and center. Gray’s pop songs are experimental in nature, so I was eager to hear how her music would cozy up to our space. That inclination to stretch out and try anything comes from her musical family: Her mother, who moved from Japan to Canada, [See More…]

Ashley Pointer | February 28, 2025 The morning that Bishop Marvin Sapp came to NPR, he told me that it was his kids who really emphasized how important it was for him to accept our invitation to perform: “They told me, ‘Dad, Tiny Desk is for the culture.’ ” Backed by a four-piece band and a six-piece choir, Sapp transforms our office into a sanctuary, performing an 11-song medley of praise and worship hits that span more than three decades in music and ministry. From the moment his set begins, the spirit moves through the room, filling every corner with [See More…]

Thank you for tuning in and supporting incredible artists. We couldn’t have done it without you! ❤️ ⁠⁠What’s been your favorite Tiny Desk Concert so far? Drop it in the comments—we’re reminiscing today! ⬇️ NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts is a popular video series featuring live, intimate music performances by diverse artists, from major stars to up-and-coming musicians, recorded in the small workspace of Bob Boilen’s NPR office in Washington, D.C.brought to you by SloppBoxx.Com.

Bobby Carter | February 20, 2025 On the morning of Leon Thomas’ Tiny Desk concert, many NPR staffers assumed the show was postponed due to a snowstorm in the D.C. area. Not only did he proactively schedule his coast-to-coast flight but he was also 30 minutes early to the office. With his sophomore album, MUTT, Thomas has planted his flag as the most exciting artist in R&B music today. The Tiny Desk had to happen now; nothing would get in the way of divine timing. Thomas was destined to be an entertainer — he’s been doing it for most of [See More…]

Lars Gotrich | February 18, 2025 Density is built into the music of Bartees Strange — he packs his tracks with lyrical insight and sonic gestures that, upon closer listen, reveal interwoven layers of story and sound. But the dude’s also an incredibly thoughtful and powerful live performer. At the Tiny Desk, he’s got the range, with crunching rock riffs, spitting bars and bringing us to the brink of tears. Every song in this set comes from Horror, his third in a series of genre-agnostic albums that increasingly just sound like Bartees Strange and only Bartees Strange. His band gives [See More…]

Robin Hilton | February 11, 2025 Artists who play the Tiny Desk aren’t always sure what they’re getting into. “I wasn’t expecting it to be in a big building,” girl in red’s Marie Ulven tells the NPR crowd. “I thought I was going to go into a little house or something.” Any confusion aside, Ulven and her band deliver a set suitable for the kind of cozy space she imagined, one of genuine charm, good humor and unbridled joy — a vibe that girl in red has always cultivated through music. She can find cause for celebration even in life’s [See More…]