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Tiny Desk Concerts

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.

Sean Paul’s Tiny Desk Concert dropped Friday (May 31) and it’s as good as you’d expect. The legendary reggae superstar took over the NPR offices and transformed them into a good old-fashioned bashment from the jump. Although there was no daggering or whining to be seen, Paul sounded just like he did when he made […]

Bob Boilen is leaving NPR.

On Wednesday (Sept. 13), Boilen announced his departure from the media organization after a 35-year tenure. Boilen is the co-creator of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, the creator and host of All Songs Considered and has directed All Things Considered for the last 18 years.

On social media, Boilen wrote, “After 35 years, I am leaving NPR. I’ve had the thrill of creating Tiny Desk Concerts, All Songs Considered, directing All Things Considered for 18 years and so much more. I love the people I’ve worked with, but it’s time to find new challenges. thank you for listening/watching.”

Boilen’s last day on the job is Oct. 2.

An internal memo obtained by Billboard also announced Boilen’s departure to staff.

“For over 35 years Bob has been a fixture here, whether as a long-time producer and director on All Things Considered or as a digital pioneer with NPR Music, Bob’s impact has achieved what few can; he has, through his work, changed NPR and changed the world around us,” reads the memo, written by NPR vp of visuals & music strategy Keith Jenkins and outgoing senior vp of programming and audience development Anya Grundmann.

In the memo, Jenkins and Grundmann add that the Tiny Desk series, which Boilen co-created in 2008, “has set the music industry agenda for the last 15 years” and succeeded in “bringing new audiences to NPR.”

The memo includes a note from Boilen, who states, “I leave at a time when new creative folks will hopefully envision exciting new futures for NPR Music.”

In addition to his work at NPR, Boilen is an accomplished musician and writer. His debut book, Your Song Changed My Life, was published in 2016.

The news of Boilen’s exit follows two other high-level departures at the public radio broadcaster as of late. In August, Grundmann — who worked with Boilen on Tiny Desk in her role overseeing music, podcasts, entertainment and talk shows at the broadcaster — also announced that she’s leaving the public radio giant at the end of the year following nearly 30 years at the organization.

That was followed earlier this month by an announcement from NPR president/CEO John Lansing that he’ll retire at the end of the year following a four-year tenure. Lansing’s time at NPR involved navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent budget crunch. He’ll remain in place until NPR’s board of directors identifies his replacement.

Read the full staff memo on Boilen’s departure below.

All;Today, we’re sharing the news that one of our longest tenured colleagues, Bob Boilen, is retiring from NPR. For over 35 years Bob has been a fixture here, whether as a long-time producer and director on All Things Considered or as a digital pioneer with NPR Music. Bob’s impact has achieved what few can; he has, through his work, changed NPR and changed the world around us.Bob’s work on the broadcast side of NPR was extensive, and he later was instrumental in pushing NPR into the digital world at a critical moment of change in media. All Songs Considered, which began as a multimedia online show in 2000 and became one of NPR’s first podcasts in 2005, was a foundational element of NPR Music which Bob helped create in 2007. Bob has continued to produce the podcast weekly, and it’s also heard on more than a hundred NPR Member stations.While web video was still in its infancy, Bob created Project Song which placed a musician in a Big Brother type environment at NPR for 24 hours, allowing us to observe the song writing process, unfiltered. While its run was short, its impact was great; Project Song’s influence can be found in podcasts like Song Exploder. Project Song also has the honor of earning NPR its first Emmy in 2012.Finally, there is little left to say that hasn’t already been shared about the Tiny Desk series, which Bob co-founded in 2008. The series has set the music industry agenda for the last 15 years, and it continues to break new ground with its concerts and the Tiny Desk Contest; bringing new audiences to NPR. It is very difficult indeed to go anywhere in the world — whether it’s a battlefield in Ukraine, an embassy in Washington, a farm in the Midwest or a restaurant in Asia — where people haven’t heard about and watched Tiny Desk Concerts. This is the very definition of a global phenomenon.Bob is leaving NPR with a legacy of creativity and innovation. Knowing of his love for photography and the Eastern Shore, we hope his days continue to be filled with beautiful birds and sunsets — that is, when he can tear himself away from continuing to discover new music in clubs across America. We wish you all the best.Keith and AnyaA few words from Bob:I’m retiring from NPR after 35 incredible years. It’s time to find new challenges in life, and I’m excited about some of the possibilities. I leave at a time when new creative folks will hopefully envision exciting new futures for NPR Music. My last day is October 2.I lived the dream when I came to NPR’s All Things Considered without a day of journalism or radio in my background. I was a musician and a video producer in 1988, but the folks at NPR saw something in me and gave me opportunities to take chances and grow. Within a year, I was directing All Things Considered. I did that for 18 years. I produced hundreds of music stories, brought in music writers, and edited and produced their reviews.In 1999, I imagined a music show for the internet, and in 2000 All Songs Considered was born. Back then, it was a multimedia show with music. In the summer of 2005 All Songs Considered became what I believe was the first original content podcast for NPR.With the launch of NPR music in 2007, NPR covered music festivals, including Newport Folk, and, of course, SXSW, where Stephen Thompson’s comment to Laura Gibson became the spark that started the Tiny Desk series. The staff includes such great talent and now the videos look and sound better than ever.All the while, I got to be in an office with some truly amazing, talented, and fun people. Most of all I just want to thank all of you for making magic happen.

Chloe Bailey is the latest star to stop by NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, appearing on the Monday installment to sing tracks from her debut studio album In Pieces. The Praise This star mostly matched her band, who wore all black, though she opted for an army-green skirt to stand out. The singer kicked off […]

Sibling trio Yahritza Y Su Esencia are the latest to perform for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Composed of Yahritza, Mando and Jairo, the band serenaded fans with their ultra-emotional songs on love and heartbreak. Singing with such pathos, as ever, 16-year-old Yahritza first belts out the melancholic “Soy El Único,” their debut single released last […]

Dedicated ARMY veterans will likely be dissecting the set of RM’s NPR Tiny Desk concert for the rest of the month. To celebrate the release of his solo album, Indigo, the BTS rapper born Kim Nam-joon recreated an amazingly detailed replica of the Washington, D.C.-based Tiny Desk office set in South Korea, complete with shelves packed with tasty Easter eggs.
But the focus, of course, was on the vocals, which the 29-year-old star delivered on with ease, beginning with the jazzy opening track of his three-song set, “seoul.” The chilled-out bilingual song from RM’s 2018 mono mixtape set a mellow mood for the 18-minute mini-show, complete with warm keyboards and restrained beats from drummer JK Kim.

After the opening track, RM said it was about his second home town in South Korea, before introducing his band and noting that the album version of the opening track from Indigo, “Yun,” features R&B legend Erykah Badu, who, unfortunately, could not make it to Seoul for the session. RM also explained that it was inspired by Korean painter Yun Hyong-keun, who, “was always saying that you should firstly be a human before you do some art or do something, so this song is inspired by his lifelong message,” he said, adding that one of the artist’s images is on the Indigo cover.

While the band played the slow-rolling soul rap tune, Badu’s recorded vocals floated above the chorus as RM dropped his mashed-up English/Korean bars over the loungey arrangement. “F–k the trendsetter/ I’mma turn back the time/ Back the time, far to when I was nine,” he rapped before seamlessly slipping into Korean for the rest of the first verse.

RM said that though he’s been doing music for 15 years — 10 of them with BTS — Indigo is his first official full-length solo album. “I went all the way just to release these 10 tracks and 10 colors out of my soul and out of my ego,” he said of the album that dropped on Friday (Dec. 2) in the midst of BTS’ open-ended group hiatus.

“This time I finally could show the world what’s really inside me and what I wanted to do,” he added of the collection he’s been working on since 2019 with the band, which also featured Jaeshin Park on bass and DOCSKIM on keyboards.

For the final track, RM slid into Indigo‘s funky second track, “Still Life,” which he said was inspired by a visit to a “random” museum where he saw lots of paintings from the 19th century with that title, giving him the idea to write a song about his life being like a canvas on which he exhibits himself to the whole world. The soul clap tune was the perfect excuse to bust out some of BTS’ signature coordinated dance moves, but given the setting, RM had to make do with dropping his emphatic verses from an office chair as the band swirled up some sinuous grooves behind him.

Watch RM’s Tiny Desk concert below.