Miguel: Tiny Desk Concert

Miguel: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

Bobby Carter | February 3, 2026

So much has happened in Miguel's world since we last saw him at NPR headquarters. Back in 2012, he was one of the very few R&B acts — including Raphael Saadiq, Bettye LaVette and Booker T. Jones — to play a Tiny Desk concert. And, much like the trajectory of this series, Miguel's music has taken some explosive twists and turns.

After performing "Sure Thing," his first song back at the Desk, Miguel says, "That one's come a long way." He reflects on that time in his life and what he's been able to do with it: "There's something about being able to wake up and do this every day, and then to come and perform it — to see the lyrics actually become a part of people's time and memories and space in this experience. I have to say I'm tremendously grateful." Miguel's clearly been on a journey of self-discovery, which we see in a medley of his hits backed by a flawless string section. And on the Spanish-sung "CAOS," he revisits his Mexican roots.

Between his 2017 album War & Leisure and last year's CAOS, the Los Angeles singer-songwriter has been relatively quiet. "I was putting my value in the wrong places, and it made it really hard to do this consistently," he says before the last song. "But, motherf*****, we back!"

SET LIST

"Sure Thing"

"New Martyrs (Ride 4 U)"

"Sky Walker"

"How Many Drinks?"

"Do You…"

"Quickie"

"CAOS"

MUSICIANS

Miguel: vocals

Ray Brady: guitar, music director

Julio Tavarez: bass

Lenny "The Ox" Reece: drums

Paul Cartwright: violin

Jess McJunkins: violin

Johnny Dinklage: viola

Rahel Lulseged: cello

Erika Nicole: background vocals

Ro James: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Bobby Carter

Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant

Audio Engineer/Mix: Josephine Nyounai

Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame

Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera Castro

Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda, Ashley Pointer

Photographer: Virgina Lozano

Tiny Desk Team: Josh Newell, Felix Contreras

Series Editor: Lars Gotrich

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Executive Director: Sonali Mehta

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #miguel

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