Behind The Scenes Of Our First In-Person Tiny Desk Concert Since 2020

Plus, an interview with Bruce Springsteen and former President Barack Obama.

View this email online by Marissa Lorusso NPR This week, we shared the first Tiny Desk concert filmed at NPR’s Washington, D.C. headquarters since March 2020. It was the grand prize performance for Neffy, the winner of this year’s Tiny Desk Contest. Because Neffy lives in Arlington, Va., just a few miles from NPR HQ, we were able to film her stunning, emotional concert -- a one-off return to our office, for now -- in person with the help of a tiny, socially distanced crew. We’re proud of all the Tiny Desk (home) concerts we’ve gotten to share (including this week’s performances, by Ed Sheeran and Circuit Des Yeux) since the pandemic shut down Tiny Desk concert operations last year. But we’ve missed getting to watch artists perform behind Bob Boilen’s actual desk — and no one has missed it quite as much as the Tiny Desk production team. So we asked them how it felt to be back at the Desk for this very special performance. ​​​​​​Audio engineer Josh Rogosin said that when he arrived, he found his production notebook still open to the last Tiny Desk filmed in the office 19 months ago, with Sudan Archives. “It was eerie,” Tiny Desk series creator Bob Boilen says. “We had filmed almost 1,000 Tiny Desk concerts before we abandoned the office, and what was then exciting yet routine now felt like a hallucination. But for Neffy, it was a dream come true.” ​​​​​​Tiny Desk Contest manager Elle Mannion said it was “surreal” to hear Neffy’s voice in person after watching her entry video so many times — plus, it was sweet to watch Neffy “gush over trinkets from the Desk shelves (especially Adele's water bottle).” Our Tiny Desk video producers Maia Stern and Kara Frame felt the same: “It was so nice to return to that familiar setting again and hear Neffy's gorgeous voice fill the intimate space,” Maia says. And Kara summed it all up perfectly: “After almost 600 days, we brought music back to the Tiny Desk. Although it's not a return to in-office concerts, it’s a glimmer of what the future holds.” Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: new releases from the sprawling rock band The War On Drugs, tuba-rocking polymath Theon Cross, versatile Chilean singer-songwriter Mon Laferte and more. Quinn Christopherson won the Tiny Desk Contest in 2019, and we’ve been looking forward to new music from him ever since. His new track, “Bubblegum,” is in this week’s New Mix from All Songs Considered, alongside new tracks from IDLES, Anjimile and more. The effects of time are a central theme across Starflyer 59’s towering discography. To mark the band’s 16th album, Vanity, longtime Starflyer 59 fan and resident Viking Lars Gotrich dug through the band’s catalog and asked songwriter Jason Martin about five of the band’s songs that show how his relationship with time has changed. This week’s update to the NPR Classical playlist is ready for Halloween, with compositions including Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera, William Bolcom’s ragtime-infused “Poltergeist,” Meredith Monk’s “Hungry Ghost” and various apparitions from George Crumb and György Ligeti. Featuring In February, Bruce Springsteen and former President Barack Obama launched their podcast, Renegades, a series of candid conversations recorded in the summer of 2020. Now, their podcast has been turned into a book called Renegades: Born In The USA. Ahead of its release, they sat down in the studio at Springsteen's New Jersey farm where they recorded the podcast for an interview with All Things Considered’s Audie Cornish. Our friends at It’s Been A Minute recently spoke to Shea Serrano, author and host of the No Skips podcast, about his new book, Hip Hop (And Other Things), where he dives into Cardi B's explosive 2018, the early days of Missy Elliott's career and one of the biggest nights in rap history: the 1995 Source Awards. This week, Minnesota's congressional delegation introduced legislation calling for Prince to posthumously receive one of the highest awards given to U.S. civilians: the Congressional Gold Medal. October 25 was "World Opera Day.” To celebrate, NPR Classical put together a list of scenes that will make you fall in love with the art form — from a crazy day at Mozart's diner to a trippy trip to China with Richard Nixon. This week, our friends at WUNC shared a video of Navy performing “Scorpio's Letter” and “One Shot.” One More Thing “I hope you die / I hope we both die.” The Mountain Goats’ “No Children” may have achieved recent virality thanks to TikTok, but some of us have long appreciated the ultimate anthem to dysfunction. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy