The Tiny Desk is expanding to Japan

Our international growth continues; plus, Soul Glo's Tiny Desk mosh pit, a chance to visit our U.S. headquarters and more

View this email online Support this newsletter for a chance to win. This is your last chance to win an unforgettable trip to a Tiny Desk concert by supporting the NPR Network. This incredible opportunity ends TODAY — Thursday, March 28 at midnight PST! So don’t wait. Enter now for a chance at this once-in-a-lifetime summer trip to explore NPR and witness a show at the Tiny Desk itself. Enter here before it’s too late. — Stephen Thompson, NPR Music March 28, 2024 by Stephen Thompson Our international growth continues; plus, Soul Glo’s Tiny Desk mosh pit, a chance to visit our U.S. headquarters and more Courtesy of NHK WORLD-JAPAN There’s a ton of wonderful Tiny Desk-related news this week, and thus any number of directions I could take this newsletter. For one, we just published the first-ever Tiny Desk concert with a mosh pit — seriously, do not miss Soul Glo — while our treasured colleague and friend, Bobby Carter, was just named Tiny Desk host and series producer. (On the outside, this won’t affect much for viewers; internally, it’s great news for us and for Bobby, who is an utterly stellar human being.) What else? Today is the last day you can enter for a chance to win a trip to see a Tiny Desk concert in person, so don’t sleep on that. That’s one of two Tiny Desk Contests we’re running — in the other, we’re no longer accepting submissions, but we’ve received more than 6,000 entries by musicians hoping to perform on our stage. I don’t get a say in the matter this time around, but I’m kinda hoping that whoever wins gets a mosh pit going. The award for the news that had to travel the longest to get to this email comes via our second partnership to bring the Tiny Desk magic overseas. The first, Tiny Desk Korea, launched in August 2023 and has already showcased a huge range of acts, from up-and-comers to V of BTS. The second, Tiny Desk Concerts JAPAN, will be a collaboration between NPR Music and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation.  The first Japanese iteration of Tiny Desk concerts will feature the chart-topper Fujii Kaze — his set drops tomorrow, joining a Tiny Desk legacy that spans 16 years, countless genres, way more than 1,000 concerts and now the globe itself. Don’t miss it.   Newsletter continues after sponsor message Tiny Desk Contest update As noted above, we’re no longer accepting Tiny Desk Contest submissions, but you can catch up on the thousands we’ve already received. More pressingly, today is your last opportunity to enter for a chance to attend a Tiny Desk concert as an audience member. Click here for more information! Introducing NPR Music+, a new way to support what you love and explore new music and conversations sponsor-free. NPR Music+ includes two podcasts with one convenient subscription: All Songs Considered and Alt.Latino, both sponsor-free. Learn more and support us at plus.npr.org/NPRmusic Get NPR Music+ Recent Tiny Desks Elizabeth Gillis / NPR Vikingur Olafsson is a thoughtful pianist from Iceland whose gentle pieces — from Bach to Bartók — evoke nostalgic memories of his childhood. Big Sean’s Tiny Desk debut is almost certainly a record-breaker, as the rap hitmaker cobbled together an epic set list that included all or part of 14 songs. Soul Glo, as noted above, got a mosh pit going — and staked a claim for hardcore punk at the Tiny Desk. Chappell Roan, beneath the mantle of a towering red wig, performed five tremendous songs with her pink-clad band — and left the wig at the desk for posterity. Justin Timberlake is nothing if not a paragon of maximalist effort, as he presided over an epic, solo-career-spanning, seven-song, 25-minute performance. Around Public Radio Seattle’s KEXP recorded the punk legends in Sleater-Kinney as they played songs from the new album Little Rope — a record filled with as much anguish and fury as any in the group’s storied catalog — live in the studio.  Nashville’s WNXP hosted the drolly charismatic post-punk quartet Yard Act in the station’s Sonic Cathedral for a trio of songs, including two from the recent album Where’s My Utopia? WMOT, another great Nashville station, recently recorded a pair of performances by artists who have new albums out next week (April 5, if you’re marking the calendar): Alex Harris and Katie Pruitt both performed at Riverside Revival, for WMOT’s Wired In series. Madi Diaz visited World Cafe in Philadelphia for an interview and a performance of four songs from her incredible new album, Weird Faith, out last month. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Need a new playlist? 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