My Favorite Tiny Desk Concerts

In 2017 I was obsessed with Musas, an album by the one and only, Natalia Lafourcade. Around this time I was trying to find live performances of her because I JUST KNEW she sounded amazing live. That is how I came across this video and was introduced to the greatness that is Tiny Desk.

What Is Tiny Desk?

Tiny Desk is an online concert series that started in 2008 by Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson. They went to go see Laura Gibson one year at SXSW and noticed that they couldn;t hear the music very well. There was a sports game going on nextdoor which affected the sound quality. Thompson joked about how they should just get Gibson to perform at their desk. and then BAM that is how the very first Tiny Desk came to fruition.

With live music taking a heavy hit this year due to COVID-19, Tiny Desk had to get pretty creative with how they were going to work. Even changing the series name to Tiny Desk Home Concerts. While musicians are not being asked to perform at the familiar tiny desk set in Washington D.C., we’re seeing a new kind of performance every week. The result: bigger stages, bigger bands, different settings and more insights.

To me, the beauty of Tiny Desk was always working with what you have. During this current pandemic, we’re still seeing this but now we’re getting insight into the musicians’ creativity beyond their performance alone. We’re seeing a side of our favorite musicians and bands we never got to see and because of that, I think Tiny Desk is forever changed. And that’s exciting! With that discovery in mind, I wanted to share a few of my all-time favorite Tiny Desk concerts and current faves. So please, by all means, go down the beautiful Tiny Desk wormhole.

Café Tacvba

Juanes and Mon Laferte

Lido Pimienta

Ozuna

SURPRISE!!!

Here is the link to my YouTube Playlist which has all of these videos and more of my faves spanning different genres. Happy Tiny Desk binging!