hurt from smiling so much!" Bob Boilen/NPR hide caption
Bob Boilen says that the Japanese pop punk band CHAI performed one of his Tiny Desk Concerts of 2019: "My face hurt from smiling so much!"
Bob Boilen/NPRWhen we first started filming musicians playing behind the Tiny Desk in April 2008, the beauty was in the intimacy and simplicity of these concerts. Now into our 11th year, after more than 900 Tiny Desks, the other treasure I find in these concerts is the variety. I remember having the cast of Sesame Street here in May, with NPR parents and their children seated on the floor watching the Muppets. The following Monday we had the blood red-faced raging of Idles, climbing all over the desk and singing "I'm Scum." The scope of music is invigorating, especially considering a world of listening where we can not only get comfortable with what we love, but where the quantity of music from any particular genre could keep us happy all year. Tiny Desk concerts are here to shake up your tastes a little and help you stretch your ears and discover something you never knew existed or convert you to something you never thought you'd like. Here are 10 great examples of that magic from 2019.
Bob Boilen's Favorite Tiny Desk Concerts Of 2019
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47SOUL
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CHAI
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Ensemble Signal
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IDLES
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Lizzo
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Leikeli47
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Quinn Christopherson
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Sesame Street
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The Comet Is Coming
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Taylor Swift
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