Brandy Clark's 5 Favorite Tiny Desk Concerts

For Tiny Desk Playlists, we ask musicians, creators and folks we admire to choose the Tiny Desk concerts they've come to love. In celebration of Pride month, we're asking some of our favorite artists from the LGBTQ+ community to share their favorite performances; for this edition, we reached out to singer-songwriter and Tiny Desk and Tiny Desk (home) concert alum Brandy Clark.

Clark's own Tiny Desk (home) concert from September 2020 left us with a powerful combination of feelings, which is precisely how she felt while performing as well; she says during her performance that "it's a little exciting and sad to be playing music together" with her band – exciting because it sounds so good, and sad because "we're not out doing it on the road and getting it to all you guys." Clark said she got through the pandemic by regularly watching Tiny Desk (home) concerts, so we wanted to hear more about her favorite shows from the past year and some change. —Maia Stern

• Sara Watkins — This is maybe my favorite Tiny Desk. Sara takes us on such a musical journey. She starts out with "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" and some really tight harmonies that grab your ear immediately. Not only do we get to experience Sara's pure and unique voice, we also get to experience her equally stunning fiddle work. I love the two musicians accompanying her as much as I love the backdrop they are performing in front of. This one is really stellar.

• Ashley Ray — Ashley is one of my favorite singer-songwriters and this Tiny Desk is every reason why. Her songs need no more than her voice and a guitar to cut through. I love the setting on this one. I saw it when I was away from Tennessee and the setting and the sounds made me homesick.

• Katie Pruitt — I am absolutely blown away by Katie Pruitt's voice, and also her electric guitar work in this Tiny Desk. I can't get over the full sound that she gets out of a three-piece set-up for this set. I also love the visual vibe going on here.

• Pino Palladino + Blake Mills — I became a fan of Blake Mills when I heard his song "Don't Tell Our Friends About Me" from his "Heigh Ho" album. I was so excited when I saw this Tiny Desk and am now as big a fan of Pino Palladino. The musicianship on this one is second to none. I love the chill vibe. It's one I will put on repeat while I'm cooking dinner.

• Kathleen Edwards — I've always been drawn to the bell-like quality of Kathleen Edwards' voice. Her Tiny Desk really showcases that, along with her songs. I love how much she gets out of two acoustic guitars and a dobro without ever losing a bit of her vocal.

Tiny Desks In This Playlist

• Sara Watkins
• Ashley Ray
• Katie Pruitt
• Pino Palladino + Blake Mills
• Kathleen Edwards

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.