Tiny Desk

Tiny Desk

Tiny Desk Concerts is a video series of live concerts hosted by NPR Music at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C. The first Tiny Desk Concert came about in 2008 after 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 October 2021, the series included more than 800 concerts viewed a collective 2 billion times on YouTube.South–Korean based Something Special alongside both NPR and LG U+ to launch Tiny Desk Korea, serves as the first time Tiny Desk Concerts to be adapted as TV shows outside North America, with up to 52 episodes aired weekly. The TV show was premiered on LG U+ platforms in August 2023.

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