Katie Crutchfield

After more than a decade away from the iconic performing space, Katie Crutchfield has brought Waxahatchee back to NPR‘s Tiny Desk Concert series.
Appearing in support of her latest album, the Grammy-nominated Tiger’s Blood, Crutchfield ran through a five song set which included three tracks from her latest record, alongside the recent single “Much Ado About Nothing” and 2020’s “Fire”.

Backed by a full five-piece band, the performance is a picture of evolution for the Alabama musician, whose 2013 debut on the series in support of Cerulean Salt is one she looks back on with some mixed emotions.

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“I have been here before, it was about 11 years ago,” Crutchfield explained during her set.

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“I sort rolled out of the tour van, I didn’t realize I was going in be the NPR building, I sort of didn’t really know what I was doing at all. My amp broke in the middle,” she added. “I’m really happy to be back.”

Taking to her personal Substack newsletter after the fact, Crutchfield reflected on that initial performance, noting it does “leave some room for improvement”.

“It’s giving endearingly green and inexperienced and tiny bangs she cut herself in a hurry,” she wrote. “It’s a sweet little relic of my early 20s but I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to go back and do it again as a full grown adult with my band and some newer songs.”

Though this latest return to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series is her second in-person appearance, Crutchfield did however show up with Kevin Morby in 2020 as part of the lockdown-inspired Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series.

Crutchfield’s latest effort as Waxahatchee, Tiger’s Blood, is currently up for Best Americana Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards in early February. It follows on from an impressive global showing for the record, which also featured a No. 146 position on the Billboard 200 and No. 27 on the Independent Albums chart.