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
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