Omar Montes: Tiny Desk Concert

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

Anamaria Sayre | August 17, 2023

Shrouded in all black, flamenco garb and flanked by his very own angelitos at the Tiny Desk, Spanish singer Omar Montes is the shining embodiment of the contrasts he constantly plays with.

Dancing along the border of tradition and modernity — flamenco and hip hop — the artist recounts his story as a kid of Roma heritage growing up on the streets of Madrid, over the melodic heartbeat of clapping hands. Opening the show with “Patio de la Cárcel,” he trades synthetic beats for transitive horns and lays bare his soul with vivid bars about life in his barrio. Locking in his audience with a heart-thumping trombone line, he switches to flamenco-driven “Metió en un Lío.” Settling back into the beat of clapping hands, he and his band dance through the up-tempo “La Llama del Amor.”

Omar Montes walked into the building on a video call with his grandma — one of the most important people in his life. He closes out his performance with “Conmigo,” infused with the kind of romance you’d imagine his abuela taught him. “For you I would bring down the moon,” he coos. The Spanish artist exudes tradition and soul as he centers his barrio, his people, his familia in his show — bringing a little piece of Spain to the rest of the world.

SET LIST

“Patio de la Cárcel”

“Metió en un Lío”

“La Llama del Amor”

“Conmigo”

MUSICIANS

Omar Montes: vocals

Oscar Barrul: vocals, palms

Jose del Curro: vocals, palms

Alejandro Paez: electric bass

Cesar Galvez: flamenco guitar

Eduardo Figueroa: flamenco cajon

Marcos Ortega: trumpet

Javier Campos: saxophone, flute

Roberto Lorenzo: trombone

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Anamaria Sayre

Director/Editor: Kara Frame

Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin

Creative Director: Bob Boilen

Series Producer: Bobby Carter

Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Sofia Seidel

Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee

Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills

VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #omarmontes