Hey y’all! Bobby Carter here with the Tiny Desk. In this little corner of the office, our goal is to cast the widest net possible that covers the beauty of artful expression and culture. From some of your favorites in music to emerging talent you’ve never heard of, the Best Tiny Desk concerts of 2024 is one for the record books.

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December 20, 2024

by Ashley Pointer

Watch the latest Tiny Desk concerts on NPR.org.

Zayrha Rodriguez

When I greeted Sabrina Carpenter at NPR HQ for her Tiny Desk debut, her charm was immediately disarming. Bubbling with excitement, she’d extended her hand, introduced herself and complimented my outfit with genuine warmth. You’d think this was one of her first “big time” gigs, not a regular performance for a pop veteran, having sold out arenas across the country touring her now six time Grammy-nominated sixth album, Short n’ Sweet. That humility made me love her even more.

But Carpenter delivers far more than just charm in this performance. Backed by her band, complimented with pedal steel and a string quartet, she reimagines her biggest hits from Short n’ Sweet, while sharing the stories in between songs of how these tracks came to life. Opening with “Taste,” strings serve up some playful pizzicato, before Carpenter and her band move into a lush, soulful version of “Bed Chem.” Then everyone swaps their electric instruments for acoustic to perform “Please Please Please” and “Slim Pickins.” Finally, Carpenter closes with the viral favorite “Juno,” cheekily asking the audience, “Have you ever tried this one?” before sweeping her rear end across the windchimes, earning a laugh from the room.

“When I first started [writing songs] it was kinda in a room like this — a room with very dry walls and there’s no reverb,” Carpenter reflects at the top of her performance. “But there’s something so real and special.” That authenticity set the tone for a memorable session with one of 2024’s biggest breakout superstars.

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The Latest Tiny Desks

Yo Gabba Gabbaland!: Grab the little ones and your inner child: A colorful crew transforms the Tiny Desk into Yo Gabba GabbaLand!
Waxahatchee: The Grammy-nominated artist returns to the Tiny Desk with a five-piece band and a built-out, Americana sound.
Billie Eilish: The pop star effortlessly illustrates in her music what it means to love and lose simultaneously.
Stereophonic: The original Broadway cast performs music from the Tony award-winning stage play.
Doechii: The Florida rapper, whose latest mixtape landed on our 50 Best Albums of 2024 list, moved throughout her Tiny Desk with purpose — knowing exactly what she wanted and how to achieve it.

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Around Public Radio:

WXPN’s World Cafe in Philadelphia has your weekend watching sorted for you: Ben Folds performed a “Christmas” set. He opened with a holiday classic, performed a couple seasonal originals, and ended the set with his recent career peak “Kristine from the 7th Grade.”
WMOT in Nashville got into the holiday spirit with William Prince, who performed his new Christmas song, "Don't Go Leaving Me (It's Christmas Eve)," in their studio.
WFUV in New York City captured one of our favorite songs of the year, “Patterns” by Laura Marling, in all its unadorned glory.
KNKX in Washington filmed the blues ambassador Taj Mahal at Seattle venue Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.
The Bridge in Kansas City hosted New York indie-rock band Porches for a 909 Session, and one highlight was the Dinosaur Jr.-channeling single “Rag.”

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