Their desk might be tiny, but the impact of NPR’s intimate live concert series has been enormous. Born in 2008 out of the broadcaster’s music editor Stephen Thompson’s growing frustration with not being able to hear artists over the crowd at big festivals, the series marked a turn towards high-production value virtual concerts, delivering all the live band and crowd interaction elements of a headline set right into viewers’ homes. Artists were booked to perform directly in the NPR head office in Washington, with only a (tiny) desk and a few pencil pots separating them from the audience.

This YouTube concert format is all over the internet nowadays, but NPR have continued to evolve with the times. Where the platform initially focused on the folk and indie rock scenes, with early performances from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Laura Gibson, and more than a couple of hipsters wearing fedoras, Tiny Desk has since spread roots all over the world, with offshoots in Korea and Japan, Latin music takeovers, and bookings running the full gamut of genres.

In just the last week alone, Tiny Desk has featured standout performances from PinkPantheress, who notably sang without autotune for the first time ever (and still crushed it), pop-rock provocateurs Turnstile, who made history by hosting the inaugural moshpit in the Tiny Desk office, and Sudanese singer Mustafa, whose touching odes to Palestine and childhoods lost were remixed with yelps from a Sudanese choir. It’s a string of hits that proves, 17 years after they unveiled the format, NPR are still at the top of their game. 

Below, we sift through over 1,200 episodes to list ten of our favourite Tiny Desk performances.

DOECHII

Doechii had an incredible run last year, and this was just the cherry on top. Dropping the same week as her Stephen Colbert performance, former Dazed cover star Doechii’s Tiny Desk set brought the Alligator Bites Never Heal universe to life with an all-braided, brass-boasting full band. The project might have been a straight-forward boom bap record, but it was Doechii’s compelling storytelling that led it to captivate ears globally – cut to “Denial Is a River” four minutes 20 seconds in.

TURNSTILE 

Over the last few years, Baltimore’s Turnstile have singlehandedly revived punk and hardcore music for a new generation, and their new Tiny Desk performance is just another example. Despite expanding into all corners of the musical universe over the last 17 years, Tiny Desk’s commitment to stripped-back, easy-listening production has meant that very few hardcore rock bands have appeared on the platform. Enter: Turnstile. Guitar distortion was turned down, horns were added, but Turnstile’s explosive energy releases remain – with lead vocalist Brendan Yates even stage diving into Tiny Desk’s first-ever moshpit in the family-friendly breakdown to “Birds”. This was one for the history books. 

T-PAIN

To understand why this performance is so special, you need to know a bit about T-Pain’s history. Breaking through in the early 2000s with a blend of R&B and southern hip-hop, T-Pain was one of the first artists to rely heavily on auto-tune in his music – a decision which led to significant commercial success, but also drew heavy criticism. It was a watershed moment in musical history: as the seven-time platinum-selling single “Buy U A Drank” dominated charts in 2007, sonic luddites complained that T-Pain couldn’t actually sing and that technology was replacing musical talent. Fast-forward 14 years, and T-Pain appears on Tiny Desk without any vocal processing whatsoever. The performance opens with an acoustic rendition of “Buy U A Drank”, and nay-sayers worldwide were forced to eat humble pie: T-Pain could definitely sing.  

What’s more, almost 20 years after the offending single was released, T-Pain’s vision for music as a whole has been vindicated. Far from trivialising talent, auto-tune now firmly exists side-by-side with classically trained vocalists, and creative applications of the technology have since played a key role in driving forward musical innovation. T-Pain’s Tiny Desk isn’t just a great performance; it’s the moment that an artist who helped define the sounds of the 21st century finally got his flowers.

PINKPANTHERESS

PP’s cuteness knows no bounds. This set is filled with adorable, uWu-coded moments: PP struggling to take herself seriously as she plays shakers in the closing moments of “Break It Off”, her joking that “this is the first time that having a short discography has actually played to my strengths”, and claiming that she’d never visited Washington, before immediately doubting herself and asking fans to fact-check her. But beneath all of this is also quite a profound moment for the British star, who initially made her name contrasting samples of old garage and UK dance classics alongside infectious, hyper-processed vocals. “This is my first time performing without any tuning,” she explains. “I nearly didn’t do this because the NPR people were like, ‘No, you can’t use any [digital processing]’. I’m really nervous!” Suffice to say, there’s an undeniable charm to seeing PP’s unfiltered vocals set against Adam C’s iconic “Circles” bassline recreated on an actual double bass. 

CA7RIEL & PACO AMOROSO 

Arriving as part of Tiny Desk’s Latin-language “El Tiny” takeover, Argentinian trap duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso delivered the most viewed Tiny Desk of 2024. Every inch of this episode is packed with fun, from their bass player’s comically stretched sunglasses, to Paco Amorso’s cartoonishly large hat to the entire band rocking blown-up images of themselves on their t-shirts. But where Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s performance really shines is in transforming their club-ready production into nourishing jazz-inspired big band instrumentation, all culminating in the frenetic, driving rhythms of the final track “La Que Puede, Puede”. 

ANDERSON .PAAK

The return of the fedora. Quirky headwear notwithstanding, multi-grammy award-winning musician and singer Anderson .Paak needs no introduction: blending hip-hop, R&B, funk and soul music, he has consistently remained one of the most prolific artists of the last ten years and the stripped-back Tiny Desk format is perfectly suited to his talents. Performing alongside his all-star Free Nationals band, Paak doesn’t miss a single beat as he balances drumwork and euphoric vocals. It’s hard not to get lost in the infectious energy here – just look at his smile!

USHER 

This is really what Tiny Desk is all about: beloved classics reimagined, crisp sound, and pure good vibes. Usher’s Tiny Desk is drenched in nostalgia, performing 90s and 00s hits like “You Make Me Wanna…” and “U Don’t Have To Call” alongside a full brass ensemble. Trends might come and go, but good songwriting (and Usher’s hairline) is timeless.

MAC MILLER 

Mac Miller might be most commonly described as a rapper, but listen to any of his later releases, and it’s clear that he was always destined to be so much more. Miller was as much a producer as a vocalist, with skills on the piano, guitar and drums, and many of his choruses betray a keen eye for melody that is often forgotten. It is exactly this broader legacy that Miller’s Tiny Desk celebrates. Released just weeks before he tragically passed away at age 26 from an accidental drug overdose, it’s hard not to feel moved by the live orchestral realisation of Miller’s 2018 hit “2009”, which sees the prodigal artists attempting to find peace of mind amid mental turmoil. Given what was to come just weeks later, it’s no wonder that this performance is the second most-viewed on the entire platform. RIP king.

TANK AND THE BANGAS 

Haven’t heard of these lovely ladies? Don’t worry, almost no one had before they appeared on Tiny Desk in 2017. Unlike the other superstars on this list, Tank and the Bangas landed on the platform after winning that year’s fan-powered Tiny Desk Competition, and what ensued was one of the most memorable performances they’ve ever released. Sitting somewhere between hip-hop, gospel and spoken word, it’s genuinely impossible not to smile as vocalist Tank and her full band proceed through heartwarming tales of childhood romance and love for their mother’s cooking. At one point, Tank even dives into a scat breakdown while banging a salad fork and spoon together. This whole performance is like one big hug. 

FREDDIE GIBBS AND MADLIB

Freddie Gibbs might literally be one of the greatest rappers of our time, but he is just one part of why this Tiny Desk performance is so great. He is not only flanked by legendary producer Madlib, but also Leon Michels’ funk and soul outfit El Michels Affair. Opening with a serene piano run from pianist Marco Benevento, garnished with tales of drug-dealing and gang-banging from Gibbs, it becomes immediately clear these aren’t just remixes of Gibbs and Madlib’s 2019 album Bandana  – it was a unique performance in its own right.