Tag: tiny desk concert

Suraya Mohamed | November 10, 2022 The day before The Ezra Collective’s Tiny Desk concert, the band members practiced for hours at a nearby community music space and the next morning, they walked in the door giddy and ready to go. The warm-up was good, but once we started to record, a crazy intensity and energy spilled out into the room. They were fierce and fun and all of their solos were on fire. The band makes amazing jazz music and mixes it with a fusion of other genres like Afrobeat, hip-hop and grime. The London-based band was supposed to [See More…]

Bob Boilen | November 8, 2022 While there’s a quiet element to Lizzy McAlpine’s music, there’s also an explosive element of electronics, electric guitars and drums on her 2022 album five seconds flat that feels cinematic. So when Lizzy told us that all she’d need for her Tiny Desk concert were some microphones and a few acoustic guitars, I was surprised — curious and eager to hear her rise to the challenge of our intimate setting. Her backing vocalists are a trio coincidentally and appropriately called Tiny Habits, a group she met on Instagram about a year ago. “I wanted [See More…]

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Tiny Desk is celebrating Latinx Heritage Month with an “El Tiny” takeover, featuring Jessie Reyez, Susana Baca and more musicians from all corners of Latinidad. Vita Dadoo | September 27, 2022 With his roots in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires and arms outstretched to the rest of the world, Trueno is rewriting the playbook for Latin American hip-hop. Wearing a cap for the soccer team Boca Juniors and moving among the spaces of his childhood, the 20-year-old, premier Argentinian freestyler shows us exactly where he’s from in his Tiny Desk (home) concert, an [See More…]

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Tiny Desk is celebrating Latinx Heritage Month with an “El Tiny” takeover, featuring Jessie Reyez, Susana Baca and more musicians from all corners of Latinidad. Fi O’Reilly | September 15, 2022 What a way to get our second annual El Tiny series going! Omar Apollo kicks off Latinx Heritage Month with a full-band rendition of “En El Olvido,” backed by Las Mariachis Lindas, as he channels a childhood spent listening to Juan Gabriel into his performance of the Mexican corrido. In the eternal wisdom of Alt.Latino co-host Anamaria Sayre, it’s not a Mexican party [See More…]

Bobby Carter | September 8, 2022 Everything JID does is intricately detailed. He seems to care much more than the average emcee, and throughout this entire production, I felt his strong desire to get it right. The weight was lifted from his shoulders at the midway point of the set as he turned to his band, saying, “We’re pretty hot guys. We’re pretty f***ing hot.” In this performance, recorded weeks before the release of his now widely praised third studio album, The Forever Story, the East Atlanta native performs songs from the album live for the first time, plus career-defining [See More…]

Bob Boilen | August 5, 2022 Regina Spektor sat in her hotel room waiting as we tuned the piano behind my desk. In those idle moments, she whipped up a “Tiny Song,” and she opens her concert singing this sweet, funny and tiny ditty. “Took a train from New York to D.C. / And everyone was coughing on me,” she sings, “But I wore a real tight mask / And got myself a negative COVID test.” I won’t spoil the rest except to say that what unfolds over the course of the next five songs is the humor and passions [See More…]

Kara Frame | July 15, 2022 Ludovico Einaudi was on a North American tour, playing before audiences in the thousands, when he stopped by the NPR office to play a far more intimate setting: a Tiny Desk set. It’s the first tour for the Italian pianist and composer since the beginning of the pandemic, following the release of his 2022 album, Underwater. It’s an album that captures how many have felt in the pandemic — feeling underwater, or trapped in another world. It’s that relatable feeling — like we’re treading water trying to remain above the surface, powering through the [See More…]

Bob Boilen | July 8, 2022 Now that we’re back filming Tiny Desk concerts behind my desk at NPR, I get to witness that nervous energy surrounding most artists who are about to perform in an office, in daylight, with fans just a few feet away. This was surely true of the eight members of Belle and Sebastian when they kicked off their warmup with “Unnecessary Drama.” That’s the title of a track from the band’s fabulous new album A Bit of Previous and not my description of what was about to unfold. Though I can’t deny the tension. You [See More…]

This year, NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts — both from home and from behind our beloved Desk. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we’ve never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk’s unique way of showcasing that talent. Bobby Carter | June 30, 2022 “We celebrate Black Music Month. This has been Black magic.” Truer words may have never been spoken behind the Tiny Desk as R&B [See More…]

This year, NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts — both from home and from behind our beloved Desk. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we’ve never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk’s unique way of showcasing that talent. Bobby Carter | June 16, 2022 Larry June is the indie-rap hustle personified. His graduation from the streets has made way for his true purpose in rhyme: healthy living. [See More…]