Tiny Desk Concerts

Tiny Desk Concerts is a program at NPR Music of live performances, generally stripped-down, by musicians of different genres, located in Washington, D.C.

History

The first Tiny Desk Concert came about in 2008 after Bob Boilen and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson left South by Southwest frustrated that they couldn't hear the music over the crowd noise. 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. The name is taken from Boilen's 1970s psychedelic dance band called Tiny Desk Unit.

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—to the exclusion of genres like country and hip-hop. However, the series' musical focus has broadened in scope over time.

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. The 2022 Tiny Desk Concert winner, Alisa Amador, was the first performance back at the desk with an audience since the pandemic started.

As of August 2024[update], the series included more than 1,100 concerts and has an average of 45 million views a month on YouTube.

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. 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. The show premiered on NHK General TV in Japan on March 16, 2024, subsequently premiering on its global sister channel NHK World-Japan on March 29. The series became a regularly scheduled program on September 30, starting with B'z vocalist Koshi Inaba. In September 2025, Anonymous Content Brazil announced the creation of Tiny Desk Brasil. The series premiered on YouTube in October 7, with João Gomes as its first performer.

Tiny Desk Contest

In December 2014, NPR announced it would host its first contest, inviting musicians to submit a video of one of their songs. A jury of musicians and NPR staff choose a winner to play a Tiny Desk Concert. The contest has continued annually, each year drawing more than 6000 submissions. Jurors have included Trey Anastasio of Phish, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and Jess Wolfe of Lucius.

Singer Yasmin Williams, a two-time Contest "loser", was invited back to perform on the flagship Tiny Desk Concerts series in February 2025. Williams credited her Contest and subsequent NPR appearances with helping to launch her career.

Tiny Desk Contest winners have included:

• Fantastic Negrito (2015)
• Gaelynn Lea (2016)
• Tank and the Bangas (2017)
• Naia Izumi (2018)
• Quinn Christopherson (2019)
• Linda Diaz (2020)
• Neffy (2021)
• Alisa Amador (2022)
• Little Moon (2023)
• The Philharmonik (2024)
• Ruby Ibarra (2025)

Tiny Desk Radio

On April 17, 2025, NPR launched Tiny Desk Radio, a weekly hour-long show on member stations hosted by Bobby Carter and Anamaria Sayre. The show itself features greatest Tiny Desk performances and stories of artists asked to reimagine their music.

Concerts by year

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024