Watch: Guster Make Long-Awaited Appearance on NPR ‘Tiny Desk’
photo: Alysse Gafkjen
Guster is the latest band to receive the coveted NPR Music invitation to appear in the live concert video series, Tiny Desk. While cameras rolled, the ensemble pulled extensively from their 2006 album, Ganging Up on the Sun, conjuring live returns to “Manifest Destiny,” “Empire State” and “Satellite,” before delivering one final song off their latest studio entry, Ooh La La, on “The Elevator.”
Notoriously, Guster is known to commemorate the anniversary of an album, and considering the 2006 release of its fifth studio album, the band delineated the nearing 20-year mark, which will occur next June, by returning to the Billboard charting collection during their appearance on Tiny Desk.
A highlight of the performance in its entirety was the Gay Men’s Chorus’ arrival for “Empire State,” which found frontman Ryan Miller musing that, with the on and off-camera choir members’ aid, it made for one of the largest assemblies of singers for a Tiny Desk gig. “We tried to break the record for the most amount of people… I think we did,” Miller said.
“When we played with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center earlier this year, we reached out in solidarity. We weren’t able to make it happen, and we thought this would be kind of cooler in a lot of ways,” Miller continued, touching on the Gay Men’s Chorus’ initial consideration as guests during their March 2025 performances in DC.
As a follow-up to the harmoniously enriched “Empire State,” it proceeded into the fan favorite, sing-along “Satellite.” On the back of the early aughts classic, Guster brought in a feature from their latest release, “The Elevator.”
Following Guster’s appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk, they will participate in a complimentary concert for resort guests at the Four Seasons in Lanai, Hawaii, on August 30, before returning to the mainland in preparation for their September 12 slot at Bourbon & Beyond in Louisville, Ky.
For tickets and to learn more about Guster, visit its official website. Watch Guster’s Tiny Desk Concert below.
