Tiny Desk Concert: NPR

When I greeted Sabrina Carpenter at NPR headquarters for her Tiny Desk debut, her charm was immediately disarming. She beamed with excitement, held out her hand, introduced herself, and complimented my outfit with genuine warmth. You’d think this was one of her first “big” gigs, not a regular gig for a pop veteran, after touring sold-out venues across the country with her now six-time Grammy-nominated sixth album. Short and sweet. This humility made me love her even more.

But Carpenter delivers much more than just charm in this performance. Supported by her band, complemented by pedal steel and a string quartet, she reinterprets her greatest hits Short and sweet, as between songs we tell the stories of how these tracks came to life. Opening with “Taste,” the strings play a playful pizzicato before Carpenter and her band move into a lush, soulful version of “Bed Chem.” Then everyone swaps their electric instruments for acoustic ones and plays “Please Please Please” and “Slim Pickins.” Finally, Carpenter closes with the viral favorite “Juno,” cheekily asking the audience, “Have you ever tried this?” before sweeping her rear end over the wind chimes, earning laughter from the room.

“When I first started (writing songs), it was in a room like this – a room with very dry walls and no reverb,” Carpenter recalls at the end of her performance. “But there’s something so real and special.” That authenticity set the tone for an unforgettable session with one of 2024’s biggest breakout superstars.

SET LIST

• “Taste good”
• “Bed chemistry”
• “Please, please, please”
• “Slim Pickins”
• “Espresso”
• “Juno”

MUSICIAN

• Sabrina Carpenter: vocals
• Haeun “hani” Du: piano, keyboards
• Caleb Nelson: guitar
• Matt Park: pedal steel guitar
• Chris Johnson: drums
• Alexandra Simpson: viola
• Sarena Hsu: violin
• Yasmeen “YAS” Al-Mazeedi: violin
• Bobby Wooten III: bass
• Marza Merophi Wilks: cello
• Christine Noel Smit: background vocals
• MIA MOR: Backing vocals

SMALL DESK TEAM

• Producers: Ashley Pointer, Bobby Carter
• Director/Editor: Kara Frame
• Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
• Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel, Wendy Li
• Sound engineer: David Greenburg
• Production Assistant: Elle Mannion
• Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
• Tiny Desk Copier: Hazel Cills
• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
• Series creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
• Vice President, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins