Sharon Van Etten: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Watch Sharon Van Etten play "Comeback Kid", "You Shadow" and "Seventeen" at the Tiny Desk.

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Oct. 7, 2019 | Robin Hilton -- When Sharon Van Etten made her Tiny Desk debut back in the fall of 2010, her voice exuded fragile, gentle grace. Performing songs from that year's Epic, she huddled around a single acoustic guitar with backup singer Cat Martino to perform a set of tender and evocative folk-pop songs.

Cut to nearly a decade later. One of only a handful of artists to get a repeat headlining engagement at the Tiny Desk, Van Etten has spent the last few years purging her bucket list: She's become an actress (appearing as a guest star on The OA), released a string of increasingly aggressive albums (the latest of which is this year's synth-driven Remind Me Tomorrow), toured the world, performed on Twin Peaks, written music for films, become a mom, gone back to school and popped up in collaborations with everyone from Land of Talk to Jeff Goldblum.

So it's only natural that this Tiny Desk concert feels different; you can hear it before Van Etten and her band even show up onscreen. Its pace set by the ticking beat of a drum machine, "Comeback Kid" is in full bloom here, with a swaying arrangement that fills the room before Van Etten opens her mouth. Backed by a full band — including frequent Van Etten collaborator Heather Woods Broderick, who played the Tiny Desk as a member of Horse Feathers way back in 2009 — the singer performs with considerable intensity here, seething through "You Shadow" before punctuating the set-closing "Seventeen" with a scream that slashes through the office air.

SET LIST
"Comeback Kid"
"You Shadow"
"Seventeen"

MUSICIANS
Sharon Van Etten: vocals, guitar; Heather Woods Broderick: keys, vocals; Jorge Balbi: drum machine; Devin Hoff: bass; Charley Damski: keys, vocals

CREDITS
Producers: Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Niki Walker; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey; VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann; Photo: Mhari Shaw/NPR

[tHanHkS]

Man "Seventeen" always gets me . One of the best songs I've heard in recent years

[jasonmiradoli]

I know Sharon Van Etten is not trying to forge a career by making 51-year-old fathers of three adult children cry at their computer, and I'm not saying I'm that guy...ok, I am. I am that guy. Beethoven once said, "To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." As a kid, I admired technical proficiency, and that's important. But that ain't what music is about. Her passion...that came from her soul...that moved me. She moves me. The world needs more of this.

[hol]

As a 23 year old woman on her period listening to this rendition of Seventeen has been a WHIRLWIND

[TheCrazyyashley]

The yelling on seventeen gives me tears and goosebumps every time I watch this.

[kolinevans]

Every time the sun comes up I want to listen Sharon Van Etten.

[neilfriedlander]

The way she thanked her band with true gratitude and appreciation.

[TheDreamingJune]

Seventeen makes me emotional every time I hear it. Such a powerful song and the way she delivers it is so heartwrenching.

[stanislavsoldatov]

00:00 Comeback Kid
03:05 You Shadow
08:23 Seventeen

[codyc]

Good god, her screaming on seventeen made me feel some type of way

[dominickcritelli]

Coming back to this over a year later and it's still one of the most incredible sets I've seen on a show chock full of them. If this had happened on network tv back in the 90-early 00's- like MTV Unplugged- it would be a moment EVERYONE still talks about. It's that good. And I'm a lifetime cynic.

[tikirama]

I can watch Seventeen five times in a row and still tear up every single time.

[JPVanderbuilt]

She gets more beautiful with every birthday. It's hard to stop watching her.

[benperkins]

All these songs are still the most honest performances I’ve seen on tiny desk. Gives me chills (In a good way) to watch.

[ethancolorado]

Her scream in seventeen has the same energy as bon iver in Heavenly Father

[mostlymoore]

I love her. She could've easily gone with an acoustic song or songs, but these toned down versions of usually bombastic songs are so so lovely and moving.

[MatchesMalone]

I've seen a number of live versions of Seventeen and I've yet to see her even slightly phone it in on the last chorus. Her commitment after being a touring musician for so long is amazing to see.

[ricardoemidio]

I come back here every year and still got goosebumps. Sharon is pure emotion.

[anokabball]

One of the best Tiny Desk performances ever.

[Roisin]

I still come back to this most days, i was seventeen when this came out and felt it in my bones - im now almost 23, such an incredible piece of music 🤍

[roisinfairydust]

this video came out when i was seventeen at a very surreal and scary time in my life, and now as a 19 year old in 2021 it still makes me cry and takes me back to that time, and 'seventeen' will never not make my heart feel the way it does now whenever i hear it. so much love to sharon and her music xx