Music is universal. And if you haven’t found the genre for you, chances are you will. NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts provide a wide range of musical acts for people of all backgrounds to enjoy. In honor of Tiny Desk radio coming out Apr. 17, highlighting why these concerts are important for music is essential. Ditch the large stages and extensive gear; these intimate performances showcase the genuine skill and sheer happiness of music in a raw, charming manner.
What Is NPR and Tiny Desk
National Public Radio, commonly known as NPR, is an independent, nonprofit media organization that offers a wide variety of high-quality programming, from news, culture, and music to the entire public radio system. NPR Music is an NPR project that launched in Nov. 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music discovery. According to their website, NPR’s mission is to “collaborate with Member Stations to cultivate an informed public, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures.”
The birth of Tiny Desk came when Bob Boilen (host of NPR’s online music show, All Things Considered) and Stephen Thompson (a co-
producer at NPR Music) went to see Laura Gibson, a relatively unknown singer-songwriter, at the South by Southwest music festival in 2008. Gibson was performing at a crowded bar where Boilen and Thompson could barely hear her sing, and it was then that the idea of playing in their office came to be. Gibson was invited to NPR’s D.C. office where Boilen and a few coworkers cleared some space on a desk, set up a couple of microphones and a camera, recorded an unedited, authentic performance, and uploaded it online. The rawness of the video quality and the underproduction were what made the performance special. Bob Boilen, in an interview for Vox, continues to explain that it was the “intimacy, as I’ve come to understand it. There was nothing between you and artist. There was no silly music video of someone running through a field. It wasn’t lip-synced. No reverb, studio niceties, just Laura’s voice coming through a beautiful microphone. Humble. It just worked.”
What began eight years ago as an impromptu performance featuring acoustic music has evolved into a beloved music series on the internet. Tiny Desk has become a cultural phenomenon, with millions of views on YouTube and a devoted following of music lovers. So far, NPR Music has filmed and produced over 1,000 Tiny Desk concerts in 15 years, with their most popular episode, Dua Lipa’s home concert, currently sitting at 136 million views. The initial Tiny Desk concerts showcased local and lesser-known musicians, primarily from the folk and indie rock genres, but over time, a broader spectrum of genres has been showcased, from nu-jazz (a genre of jazz and electronic music) and hip hop.
The Authenticity of Tiny Desk Concerts
As the spectrum of featured genres became broader, Tiny Desk concerts helped catapult alternative musicians from obscurity to popularity and expand the public’s perception of them. Because of the rule that all equipment for these concerts must fit behind the desk, musicians and singers are able to showcase their ability to perform successfully in a stripped-down environment, eliminating flashy electronics and PA systems (used to project sounds from instruments, voices, and other acoustic sources). 
Zachary Crockett for Vox explains, “Confining an artist to a desk has a very real effect on the outcome of sound. Sets are incredibly intimate, up-close, and personal — sometimes almost painfully so. As one producer tells me, “There’s nowhere to hide at Tiny Desk”: Stripped of typical stage equipment, musicians are forced to confront the essence of their art form.”
Much of the series’s appeal comes from the authenticity you feel while listening. Tiny Desk captures an artist’s performance with its imperfections and mishaps, differentiating it from their polished and heavily-produced studio recordings. This authenticity is not easy to capture; NPR uses its large collection of technological skills to create something that seems clean, natural, and not burdened with effects. The close proximity of the cameras and the audience creates a sense of connection that is often missing in larger concert venues. To quote Lindsay Mewes for The Stanford Daily, “Witnessing an artist’s facial expressions and body movements in extreme detail while listening to crystal-clear vocals as he or she pours heart and soul into a performance infuses the songs with greater meaning. It also exposes an artist’s emotional vulnerability, which adds to the performance’s intensity.”
Tiny Desk Radio
On Mar. 17, NPR announced on its website that on Apr. 17, they will debut a version of Tiny Desk concerts to local radio stations. They describe the segment as “Each week, Tiny Desk Radio hosts Bobby Carter and Anamaria Sayre will present three Tiny Desk concerts and share how these memorable (and sometimes viral) moments came together. You’ll hear world-class musicians from the worlds of pop, jazz, classical, Americana, hip-hop, R&B and more stripping down their sound for a concert series that’s unlike anything else on the internet — or the radio.” This is such an exciting time for music, and accessibility is only growing for music lovers and casual listeners alike.
Conclusion
Tiny Desk is not just a music show; it represents a movement for genuine expression. In today’s world of social media and a heightened sense of disconnect from the real world, Tiny Desk embraces flaws natural to art. From missed notes to awkward silences between sets, the performances highlight our own vulnerabilities and expose our true selves. Tiny Desk reassures us that it’s perfectly fine to be who we are.
Sources
Tiny Desk Concerts At 10: How One Miserable Show Led To A Magical Concert Series
Tiny Desk: how NPR’s intimate concert series earned a cult following
Tiny desk concert – everything you need to know
