Tiny Desk Concert | Wednesday

“I learned how to play guitar watching Tiny Desk concerts,” Wednesday‘s lead singer Karly Hartzman says in the band’s performance. Specifically, she says, by way of Mitski‘s scream-filled 2015 set. “The chords to these songs are pretty easy, if you want to mirror ’em.”

The Asheville, N.C., rock band is constantly on the road, supporting Rat Saw God, which made NPR’s best albums of 2023. But Wednesday made time to stop by NPR headquarters to play the Desk, toning down its noisy, country-influenced sound in a quieter setting. The rollicking opener “Chosen to Deserve” gets a pep in its step that begged for some in-office line dancing — nobody partook — before playing the quiet, romantic “Formula One” and ending with “Bath County.”

And now, we count down to see which artist will cite Wednesday’s performance as how they learned guitar.

SET LIST

• “Chosen to Deserve”
• “Formula One”
• “Bath County”

MUSICIANS

• Karly Hartzman: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• Alan Miller: drums
• Xandy Chelmis: pedal steel, lap steel, banjo
• MJ Lenderman: guitar, vocals
• Ethan Baechtold: bass

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Hazel Cills
• Director/Editor: Maia Stern
• Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
• Series Producer: Bobby Carter
• Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame
• Audio Engineer: David Greenburg
• Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
• Photographer: Michael Zamora
• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
• Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
• VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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