Giveon — NPR Tiny Desk Concert, 2025

172

Why this recording

This is GIVĒON's second appearance in the NPR series, after a Tiny Desk (home) concert filmed at his place in 2021, and this time he is behind the actual desk in Washington. The set opens with “Rather Be” and saves the anthem “Heartbreak Anniversary” for last. Around the rhythm section, the credits list violin, two trumpets, sax and three backing singers, a dozen musicians packed into a tight space. Joshua Bryant directed and edited; Tiffany Vera Castro engineered the audio.

— Simon Janvier, live-sound professional and editor of the catalogue

Recording technical sheet

Rights-holding channelNPR Music
Source statusOfficial — broadcaster or organiser
Uploaded
Exact runtime
ResolutionHD (720p+)
Directed byJoshua Bryant
Source qualityProfessional (multi-camera)

Metadata checked on YouTube on 29 September 2026; direction, camera setup and sound documented by the editors.

Published on August 29, 2026 by

Filmed live session by Giveon for the NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, recorded at NPR’s Washington headquarters and published on 19 December 2025. The American singer, known for his deep baritone voice and his feature on Justin Bieber’s « Peaches », performs five songs backed by a full band with strings and horns, in the intimate format of the famous desk. The set foregrounds his contemporary soul-R&B — « Heartbreak Anniversary », « Like I Want You », « Keeper », « Rather Be » and « I Can Tell » — carried by careful musical direction from André Pinckney. The capture comes just as his album Beloved has been nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Album. This acoustic live concert highlights Giveon’s distinctive timbre and the melancholy writing of his ballads. A soul session to recommend to lovers of deep voices and live R&B.

Setlist

  1. Rather Be
  2. I Can Tell
  3. Keeper
  4. Like I Want You
  5. Heartbreak Anniversary

Personnel & credits

  • Giveon — vocals
  • André Pinckney — bass, musical director
  • Dennard Watson — keyboards
  • George 'Spanky' McCurdy — drums
  • Nate Foley — guitar
  • Sherie Farris — violin
  • Cameron Johnson — trumpet
  • Kyla Moscovich — trumpet
  • Blake Cross — saxophone
Category

What to watch next

Giveon appears once more in the catalogue, and NPR Tiny Desk, Washington D.C. gathers 116 recordings in all.

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