NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts
Intimate Video Performances, Recorded Live at the Desk of Bob Boilen
By Richard S. Green, Sr.
Stronger and more useful to the people I love.
I have three main loves in this world, outside of family/friends/gf/etc., of course, and those are music, whisk(e)y and biking. I created the Whiskey Library blog section on Dating Refinery to cover one of my loves- whisk(e)y (mostly bourbon and rye), but I wanted to steer away for just a quick second.
I wanted to introduce something that I recently came across in my boredom of my day job.
Because I have a need to be entertained, I like to find music to play in the background while I work and recently discovered The Tiny Desk Concerts on NPR Music.
Because of the NPR section I successfully got through work for another week!
I’ll note, that I am not a normal pursuer of NPR, but this really caught me off guard and was pleasantly surprised and felt like I have probably been missing out on this for some time.
The Tiny Desk Concerts are brought forward by Bob Boilen, who directed the show, All Things Considered for 18 years, before hosting All Songs Considered stating in 2000.
I just wanted to introduce him here, and I know that I won’t be able to do him justice regarding his career and love of music. See the following: https://www.npr.org/people/2100252/bob-boilen. Per the info on Boilen, “In 1985, the Washington City Paper voted Boilen ‘Performance Artist of the Year.’ An electronic musician, he received a grant from the Washington D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to work on electronic music and performance.”
I did want to also note, that Boilen “put out two albums with his psychedelic band, Tiny Desk Unit, during the late 1970s and early 1980s,” which I suspect has something to do with the title of the series.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO)
One notable Tiny Desk Concert I came across was for the band, Unknown Mortal Orchestra. If you haven’t heard them play, you are definitely missing out. Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Tiny Desk Concert : NPR.
I was happy to read that Unknown Mortal Orchestra was a family affair with the lead singer Ruban Nielson’s father, jazz musician Chris Neilson supporting his son. Also in the band is Kody Nielson on drums. As the above points out, Ruban has really sought out family and his love for it. He came back home and really focused on his family. He learned to blend real life and his music together.
In the following article By Scott Simon and Michael Radcliffe, Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra on the band’s new album ‘V’ : NPR, the authors’ highlight more of Ruban’s family and his Hawaiian roots. They point to a video of his song entitled I Killed Captain Cook, where his mother, Deedee Aipolani Nielson, dances a sultry hula rendition throughout the video performance. Yeah, a little bizarre, but still interesting and a bit captivating at the same time. He considers it a tribute to his mother and his family.
Embedded in the article is an 8-minute podcast interview, detailed in the article by Simon and Radcliffe, that really gives you a taste of his music and gives a little insight into who Ruban is and his focus today in life. I strive to be stronger and more useful to the people I love, he was quoted as saying, which may just be a brilliant guiding principle for one’s life.
Little Moon
A second Tiny Desk Concert that I perused was of the band Little Moon, who was the 2023’s Tiny Desk Contest winner. Little Moon is a Utah band that mixes folk, pop and indie rock.
I will say this is a real treat to see such young folks with energy, emotion and creativity.
Lead vocalist/ guitarist Emma Hardyman and Husband Nathan Hardyman, Guitar and Vocals are a treat to hear and see in this performance. Little Moon: Tiny Desk Concert : NPR.
This eclectic band, reminiscent of the 1960s with a small twist of today, gives an emotional and powerful performance filled with heart, while a little haunting, and a bit of fun.
As Boilen points out, he and senior producer Bobby Carter were in awe hearing Emma’s 4-Octive voice while warming up.
Again, per the article, “the group will be hitting the road as part of the Tiny Desk Contest tour, so if Little Moon is coming to your town, come and hear this band’s unique sound.”
Per Fourth time is a charm for this year’s Tiny Desk Contest winner : NPR, Little Moon was the winner for the Tiny Desk Contest. Listen to the 7-minute podcast here.
“It’s like when your crush likes you back,” Nathan joked in reference to winning the contest after their fourth attempt at winning. The band’s winning entry, their song, Wonder Eye, was based upon the lyrics by Nathan, who wrote them at the bedside of his mother in hospice.
According to NPR, “Nearly 6,000 unsigned bands and artists entered the Tiny Desk Contest in 2023. Our judges picked one winner who will get to perform behind the Tiny Desk at NPR’s headquarters, and we discovered many great musicians along the way. Now, we’re teaming up with NPR Member stations to take the show across the country this summer.” https://nprpresents.org/tinydeskcontestotr
Tiny Desk Contest On the Road Tour 2023
Tuesday, June 20
Los Angeles, CA | Resident
with Little Moon + alegrías + Anilee List
Thursday, June 22
San Francisco, CA | Brick & Mortar Music Hall
with Little Moon + Flaco el Jandro y Los Perros Callejeros + Asher Jaffe
Friday, June 23
Seattle, WA | Nectar Lounge
with Little Moon + La Fonda + LIVt
Sunday, June 25
Atlanta, GA | WABE Mixtape Block Party
with Little Moon + J Nolan + Vahn Black + IVEEN + Uncle Bubz
Friday, June 30
Philadelphia, PA | World Cafe Live
with Little Moon + Kikashima + Julia Pratt
Saturday, July 1
Brooklyn, NY | BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!
with Ibrahim Maalouf + Hermanos Gutiérrez + Little Moon
Thursday, July 6
Chicago, IL | Subterranean
with Little Moon + Nola Adé + Ephraim Bugumba
Saturday, July 8
Houston, TX | Warehouse Live
with Little Moon + Cure For Paranoia + Micah Edwards
Tracy Chapman
Since this post is getting long in the tooth, my honorable mention for today is, the article in NPR Music’s #NowPlaying entitled, Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car is the country song we didn’t know we had! https://www.npr.org/sections/now-playing/2023/06/13/1181693858/tracy-chapman-fast-car-luke-combs
Just caught Juvenile’s performance here as well. Its Excellent. A little raunchy- so warning, language and adult themed, but fun to watch.
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1184376049/juvenile-tiny-desk-concert?ft=nprml&f=92071316