Wednesday: Tiny Desk Concert

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

Hazel Cills | March 8, 2024

"I learned how to play guitar watching Tiny Desk concerts," Wednesday's lead singer Karly Hartzman says in the band's performance. Specifically, she says, by way of Mitski's scream-filled 2015 set. "The chords to these songs are pretty easy, if you want to mirror 'em."

The Asheville, N.C., rock band is constantly on the road, supporting Rat Saw God, which made NPR's best albums of 2023. But Wednesday made time to stop by NPR headquarters to play the Desk, toning down its noisy, country-influenced sound in a quieter setting. The rollicking opener "Chosen to Deserve" gets a pep in its step that begged for some in-office line dancing — nobody partook — before playing the quiet, romantic "Formula One" and ending with "Bath County."

And now, we count down to see which artist will cite Wednesday's performance as how they learned guitar.

SET LIST

"Chosen to Deserve"

"Formula One"

"Bath County"

MUSICIANS

Karly Hartzman: lead vocals, acoustic guitar

Alan Miller: drums

Xandy Chelmis: pedal steel, lap steel

MJ Lenderman: guitar, vocals

Ethan Baechtold: bass, piano

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Hazel Cills

Director/Editor: Maia Stern

Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault

Series Producer: Bobby Carter

Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame

Audio Engineer: David Greenburg

Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer

Photographer: Michael Zamora

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson

VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#nprmusic #tinydesk #wednesday