Tag: NPR Music

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Mon Rovîa: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento | September 1, 2026 Mon Rovîa’s voice is like a balm: soft, clear, soothing. He uses that voice to tackle difficult, yet poignant vignettes — of battles fought internally and others observed in the world around him. Born in Liberia during the country’s civil war, Mon Rovîa was adopted by an American missionary family and spent his childhood moving around before eventually settling in Tennessee. His debut album, Bloodline, untangles that complicated lineage through ukulele- and guitar-driven folk melodies in music he describes as “Afro-Appalachian.” At the Tiny Desk, backed by his full band, Mon Rovîa glides [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Isaiah Rashad: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Bobby Carter | August 25, 2026 Isaiah Rashad put everything into this Tiny Desk. And in the weeks leading up to the show, we came together to define what “everything” meant for this occasion. So much has happened since The Sun’s Tirade in 2016, and through the music, Rashad wanted to talk about it all. As a result, the pride of Chattanooga crafts a performance that feels like a debut for longtime fans and newcomers alike. Rashad’s music comprises just as much blues as hip-hop, and his strength lies in raw vulnerability, which he consistently expresses through honest songwriting. Album [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Stephen Thompson | August 20, 2026 For “Weird Al” Yankovic — pop parodist, comedy lifer, occasional movie and TV star, and improver of countless adolescences — coming up with a fresh set of songs for the Tiny Desk was never going to be an issue. The singer and should-be Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has a massive arsenal of parodies, pastiches and originals at his disposal. And the band he’s brought to the Tiny Desk has grown from the lean, unplugged configuration that graced our stage in 2010 to a high-spirited and electrified crowd of players. Yankovic focused on [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

John Primer | KNKX Studio Session 0 (0)

John Primer is one of the last traditional blues players with a direct link to the original world of Chicago blues. He played guitar with some of the city’s best-known musicians, including Willie Dixon, Magic Slim and Muddy Waters, for whom he served as guitarist and bandleader from 1980 to 1983. Primer has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. He’s made 17 albums of his own and has played on hundreds more. His new album, Tribute to Theresa’s Lounge, honors the legendary Chicago blues club where he was bandleader for [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Audrey Hobert: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Elle Mannion | August 13, 2026 Audrey Hobert loves a comedic bit. In concert, she’ll stand on a tall ladder hidden by a taller trench coat. Or bounce on a mini trampoline. Or dribble basketballs. Knowing that she’s inspired by comedian (and musician) Steve Martin, this all makes more sense. But take away those tricks in a setting like the Tiny Desk, and Hobert’s catchy pop songs are just as captivating. Hobert arrived with a debut album last year, Who’s the Clown?, already with a distinct songwriting voice. The Los Angeles artist has a knack for putting words to the [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Death Cab for Cutie: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Robin Hilton | August 11, 2026 Death Cab for Cutie has always had a gift for making the ordinary feel breathtaking, bringing clarity to complicated feelings in plainspoken and universal ways, with a sound that is singularly its own. For this performance, the band’s second at the Tiny Desk, the members recreate that sound almost entirely on acoustic instruments, including a nearly 100-year old zither. The band opens with “Pep Talk” and “Stone Over Water” from Death Cab’s latest album, I Built You a Tower, both stirring reflections on aging and surviving regret, before turning to two older cuts: “Title [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Charlie Puth: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Ashley Pointer | August 4, 2026 Charlie Puth walked into the Tiny Desk and turned it into a jazz club. Known for crafting some of the biggest pop records of the last decade, Puth approaches the Desk less like a hitmaker and more like a bandleader, reimagining familiar songs with fresh arrangements that spotlight the musicianship at his core. With effortless precision — and plenty of spontaneity — he guideshis band through each song, shaping dynamics in real time like a professor leading a masterclass. “We Don’t Talk Anymore” opens with a colorful vamp before unfolding into what Puth jokingly [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Renée Fleming & Béla Fleck: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Tom Huizenga | July 30, 2026 My favorite artists are the restless ones — those who enjoy, even thrive on, working outside their comfort zones, refusing to be confined to any convenient pigeonhole. Banjo magus Béla Fleck might be the poster boy for such musical curiosity. The 18-time Grammy-winner is fluent in bluegrass, newgrass (which he helped define), jazz, rock, Indian classical and various other traditions from around the globe. Opera superstar Renée Fleming also enjoys a boundary-defying inquisitive streak. While she’s one of the finest, most celebrated, sopranos of her generation, Fleming has stepped into surprising places, including a [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Armand Hammer: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Lars Gotrich | July 28, 2026 ELUCID and billy woods have pounded the pavement for over two decades, which can feel like several lifetimes in underground rap years. Together as Armand Hammer, and separately on their own, the catalog runs deep. But even as more co-signs, features and bigger-name producers take note, a deep undercurrent remains: They reflect and refract the horrors and joys of the world, creating a kind of kaleidoscopic healing. As my colleague Rodney Carmichael puts it: The more complicated the times get, the easier it is to understand them. But this ain’t just for the heads; [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Vince Staples: Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Bobby Carter | July 21, 2026 Following the second song of his set, Vince Staples does a call out. “I just wanna see something. If you know who George Jackson is, in the crowd, raise your hand!” The Long Beach emcee goes on: “What about Bobby Hutton?” No one raises their hand. He continues saying the names of slain members of the Black Panther Party, also mentioning Larry Kimmons, who was shot and killed by a Pepperdine University security guard in 1969. The song “Go! Go! Gorilla,” details the Black community’s fear of law enforcement. It was a tense moment [See More…]