Post Malone: Tiny Desk Concert

Stephen Thompson | August 15, 2023
The Tiny Desk has hosted plenty of major pop, rock and hip-hop stars in its 15-plus years, but you'd be hard-pressed to find one more agreeable or self-effacing than Austin Richard Post. Whether lamenting the state of his singing voice, joking about his nerves or sitting slack-jawed in awe of the fantastic band his people had assembled for this show, Post had the bearing of a lottery winner who wouldn't even give himself credit for buying a ticket.

Before, during and after the show, Post Malone was a joy to have around. But he also just happened to bring a few of the biggest pop hits of the 21st century: Set-opener "Sunflower," for example, has been certified eighteen-times platinum by the RIAA since its release in 2018 — that's an all-time record — while the 2017 single "I Fall Apart" and 2019's "Circles" lag behind at a mere ten-times platinum apiece. "Enough Is Enough," which closes this set, enjoys no such designation, but give it time: A track from Post Malone's new album Austin, it's only been out for a few weeks.

So enjoy this set for what it is: one of the world's biggest stars, performing a few of the world's biggest songs, each set to a luminous arrangement. Post Malone himself seems surprised by how great this Tiny Desk concert sounds, and that's not just the humility talking.

SET LIST
"Sunflower"
"I Fall Apart"
"Circles"
"Enough Is Enough"

MUSICIANS
Austin Post: lead vocalist, guitar
Hannah Juliano: vocalist
Elliot Aguilar: vocalist
Chauncey Matthews: vocalist
Kola Rail: vocalist
Destin Johnson: drums
Emily Rosenfield: guitar
Bobby Wooten: bass
Louis Bell: piano
Kevin Kuh: strings
Francesca Dardani: strings
Kiku Enomoto: strings
Kirin McElwain: strings

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Bobby Carter, Suraya Mohamed
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Zayrha Rodriguez, Sofia Seidel
Audio Assistant: Hannah Gluvna
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Catie Dull
Tiny Desk Team: Hazel Cills
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #postmalone

[nprmusic]

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[salfromjersey]

Everything Post Malone does, he acts like it’s the most fun he has ever had in his life. A true gift to humanity

[AnthonyJMurph]

Post Malone is the perfect example of not judging a book by its cover.

[TheMkt]

Tiny desk performances should be a Grammy award class on its own.

[ProjectNightfallSTORIES]

Post Malone is the most wholesome gangster looking little boy spirited adult man, I love how he found his voice in music. A long awaited session here!

[jdsjunkdrawer]

Straight up, Posty needs to drop an acoustic album with this band. They sound absolutely fantastic!!!

[ivoflo]

idk post malone songs could be this soothing, i feel like laying on the green grass under a tree with the wind breeze

[bigman-pmxy]

I think posty's songs are so much better in this format, they sound like actual songs with a folk influence and I'm so for it

[oozzyknob]

Hearing the choir sing "she wants to ride me like a cruise" was truly moving.

[misslofox]

An acoustic version of Sunflowers with piano and violins? Are you kidding me? Austin, are you kidding me?! Stunning.

[OmegaRed]

The bassist's face the entire time is that of someone who knows they are part of something special, just living in the moment in disbelief. Beautiful, beautiful art.

[GloriaTrinidad-oryn]

I’m 75year old. Had stopped listening to music for years. Listening to Post Malone I am back. I love his voice and I can understand the lyrics Thank You !

[Precurser]

The version of I Fall Apart was on another level. The lyrics cut so much deeper sung in such a "raw" state. Goosebumps.

[XApolyonX]

“This song is about a square….it’s called circles” how could you not love this man??

[upforne]

I think the best thing is that everyone who’s with him seem to be really enjoying singing and playing the instruments together 🤷‍♂️

[Ddotsun]

on every tiny desk the band always looks suprised at how good recreating electronic music live sounds so good

[xjdndndmsvsvr]

0:01 Sunflower - I'm not nervous at all actually
4:18 I Fall Apart - How bout them Cowboys?
8:28 Circles - This song is about a square
13:17 Enough is Enough - This song is off the new album ... and therefor I will sing it for you guys today, or attempt to

[skipjack]

I had no idea how humble he really is. What an amazing musician. Thank you NPR for making theses concerts available to us all. I discover musicians I never would normally listen to.

[YungCase]

This dude works so hard. His voice was crazy strained because he was doing back to back shows on tour and still fit this in. Even with strained voice he sounds good.

[garycorken]

Not the world’s biggest Post Malone fan but this is by far my favourite TDC. He’s SO GOOD. All 4 tracks are excellent. Great stuff. Obviously I’m a fan now. Circle.