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Ty Segall: Tiny Desk Concert

A common misconception of the Tiny Desk is that bands have to keep it quiet or go all-acoustic. So when I invited Ty Segall to play in our office, I made a point of assuring him he could crank his electrified, riff-heavy guitar noise to 11. His three-word reply came via email: "We shall rock."

True to his word, the band pushed the limits of the space with stadium-sized vibes, opening with the pulse-spiking "You're the Doctor," from the 2012 album Twins. They followed with the title cut from this year's Possession and the rolling, harmony-rich "Whisper" from 2021's Harmonizer. They closed out the set with a gritty take on 2010's "Girlfriend" and "My Best Friend," from last year's Three Bells. It's some of the most glorious shredding you'll ever see at the Tiny Desk.

SET LIST

  • "You're the Doctor"
  • "Possession"
  • "Whisper"
  • "Girlfriend"
  • "My Best Friend"

MUSICIANS

  • Ty Segall: vocals, guitar
  • Emmett Kelly: guitar, background vocals
  • Mikal Cronin: bass, background vocals
  • Ben Boye: keys
  • Evan Burrows: drums

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Robin Hilton
  • Director: Joshua Bryant
  • Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
  • Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Video Editor: Maia Stern
  • Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Sofia Seidel
  • Audio Engineers: Josephine Nyounai, David Greenburg
  • Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Dora Levite
  • Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
  • Photographer: Grace Raver
  • Tiny Desk Team: Kara Frame, Ashley Pointer
  • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
  • Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

Copyright 2025 NPR

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Robin Hilton
Robin Hilton is known as the host of NPR's New Music Friday podcast, the former co-host of All Songs Considered and for his name that appears in white bubble letters above every concert at the Tiny Desk, a series he helped start in 2008 with Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson. He produced several early acts, including the second-ever performer in the series, Vic Chesnutt, and suggested naming the series Tiny Desk after Tiny Desk Unit, a band Boilen was in in 1979. He's since produced performances at the Desk by everyone from Sharon Van Etten and Son Lux to Steve Martin, Harry Styles and Chance the Rapper.