Lucky Daye — Tiny Desk (NPR), Washington D.C., 2019

Recorded in May 2019 for NPR’s Tiny Desk series, this session captures Lucky Daye just as the New Orleans singer-songwriter was establishing himself as one of the fresh faces of American soul and R&B. For the occasion, he arrived behind the NPR desk with a ten-piece band, including a four-horn section and his go-to producer Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II on bass. Across three songs — “Roll Some Mo,” “Misunderstood” and “Late Night,” drawn from his debut album Painted — the group takes the session from hushed to rowdy, with that dramatic pause of the beat that became his signature. Heir to a thick funk and a show-stopping soul, Lucky Daye unfurls a supple voice and a sharp sense of groove. An ideal live filmed concert for discovering contemporary soul, this Lucky Daye Tiny Desk in 2019 catches the emergence of an artist restoring the prestige of live R&B. A short, intense full set.