List of Tiny Desk Concerts

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Tiny Desk Concerts is a video series of live concerts hosted by NPR Music at the desk of former All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C.

The first Tiny Desk Concert came about in 2008 after Boilen and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson left South by Southwest frustrated that they couldn't hear the music over the crowd noise.[1][2] Thompson joked that the musician, folk singer Laura Gibson, should just perform at Boilen's desk. A month later Boilen arranged for her to do just that, making an impromptu recording and posting it online.[3] The name is taken from Boilen's 1970s psychedelic dance band called Tiny Desk Unit.[4]

The series has previously drawn criticism for narrowness in the musical genres it includes—described as focused on "hipster-infused indie rock" by Zachary Crockett at Vox[3]—to the exclusion of genres like country and hip-hop.[5] However, the series' musical focus has broadened in scope over time.[3][6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, NPR Music enlisted artists to instead record their own virtual performances under the re-branded title Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts.[7] The 2022 Tiny Desk Concert winner, Alisa Amador, was the first performance back at the desk with an audience since the pandemic started.[8]

As of October 2021, the series included more than 800 concerts viewed a collective 2 billion times on YouTube.[3][failed verification]

South Korea–based TV agency Something Special worked alongside both NPR and LG U+ to launch Tiny Desk Korea, which served as the first time Tiny Desk Concerts was adapted as a TV show outside North America, with up to 52 episodes aired weekly. The TV show was premiered on LG U+ platforms in August 2023.[9] In March 2024, a similar licensing agreement was struck with NHK to launch Tiny Desk Concerts Japan with Fujii Kaze as the first performer in the series.[10] The show premiered on NHK General TV in Japan on March 16, 2024; with its global sister channel NHK World-Japan subsequently premiered on March 29, 2024.[11][12]

  1. ^ Burton, Scott (February 2015). "Tiny Desk Concert contest not so tiny". KTOO. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  2. ^ Audie Cornish (May 2, 2021). "BONUS: Celebrating 50 Years of NPR". NPR (Podcast). National Public Radio. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Crockett, Zachary (November 21, 2016). "Tiny Desk: how NPR's intimate concert series earned a cult following". Vox. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  4. ^ Hilton, Robin (February 12, 2015). "All Songs At 15: Our First Ever Tiny Desk Concert". NPR All Songs Considered. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  5. ^ Moore, Marcus J. (April 8, 2016). "How 'All Songs Considered's' Bob Boilen went from Tiny Desk to tastemaker". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  6. ^ Preezy (February 21, 2017). "11 Times Hip-Hop Connected With NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series". XXL Magazine. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Young, David James (February 24, 2021). "Watch Sampa the Great's NPR Tiny Desk Concert". NME. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Boilen, Bob. "Alisa Amador: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  9. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (July 20, 2023). "BBC Player, BBC Kids Bow on Prime Video Channels in India – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved August 3, 2023. NPR and LG U+, a Korean mobile network operator owned by LG Corporation, are launching "Tiny Desk Korea," the first-ever international TV format version of NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert" series, which will spotlight emerging and established K-pop artists.
  10. ^ "NPR and NHK bring the international Tiny Desk Concerts series to Japan". NPR (Press release). March 22, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  11. ^ "tiny desk concerts JAPAN". NHK (in Japanese). Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "tiny desk concerts JAPAN". NHK World-Japan. Retrieved March 29, 2024.