Tonight, beloved New York festival globalFEST and NPR Music kick off the second annual Tiny Desk meets globalFEST, a three night series that will run Tuesday, January 18 through Thursday, January 20 via NPR Musicʼs digital platforms. Hosted by Angélique Kidjo, who performed in globalFESTʼs inaugural live event in 2004, the series will present exclusive Tiny Desk video performances from seven first-time globalFEST artists and two alums of previous festivals. Each nightʼs concert will premiere at 8:00PM ET (1am Wednesday in UK) on NPR Musicʼs YouTube channel.
Launched in 2021, Tiny Desk meets globalFEST was created to answer the challenges of the pandemic and the hardening of international borders. “Last year, our longtime friends at NPR Music saved the day with the inaugural Tiny Desk meets globalFEST series, introducing the festival to hundreds of thousands of new fans,” said globalFEST co-curator and co-founder Bill Bragin. Originally intended to return as both the Tiny Desk series and at New Yorkʼs Webster Hall on January 16, the organizers decided to cancel the live event because of the recent surge in cases of COVID-19.
The series, which now serves as the main event, will feature artists from around the world, from Mexico’s Son Rompe Pera to Lebanon and Syria via France’s Bedouin Burger to New York’s Kiran Ahluwalia. Tiny Desk founder and host Bob Boilen said:
For the past dozen years, the globalFEST team has meant so much to me, curating memorable nights of brilliant discoveries from around the world. Last year, we teamed up to bring those magical moments to people’s homes all over our planet. I think this tradition will have a long life and a meaningful one to artists and audiences.
globalFEST is a festival like no other: for almost two decades, it has showcased musicians from more than 80 countries to sold-out audiences annually in January, serving as an important source of discovery for active music fans and performing arts professionals, who are typically in New York for performing arts conferences and festivals currently umbrellaed under JanArtsNYC. A true celebration, globalFEST has been crucial to the trajectory of many notable artists, including Antibalas, Amythyst Kiah, Combo Chimbita, Kidjo, Emel Mathlouthi, Martha Redbone, Red Baraat and more. The year’s lineup is curated by Bragin, Isabel Soffer (co-founder and co-director) and Shanta Thake (co-director), plus guest curator Gabrielle Davenport.
Since the launch of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk concert series in 2008, more than 900 performances have been recorded at the Tiny Desk — Boilen’s festive workspace at NPR headquarters. At the heart of these beloved concerts, seen by 16 million viewers per month, is a passion for music discovery, making it an unparalleled stage for artists of every kind.
Tiny Desk meets globalFEST 2022 Lineup & Schedule Each evening begins at 8:00 PM ET
January 18:
Suistamon Sähkö (Finland) plays a high energy, explosive mix of bold hip-hop and
ethno-techno music, utilizing Soviet-made accordion, synth buzz and smoke-shack sounds.
Bedouin Burger (France | Lebanon | Syria) is iconic Lebanese producer Zeid Hamdan and celestially voiced Syrian singer Lynn Adib merging electronic music with traditional Arabic music (maqam), religious songs of ancient Syria, and jazz.
ADG7 (Ak Dan Gwang Chil) (South Korea) is a wildly imaginative pop trio of powerhouse female singers inspired by the sacred shaman ritual music and folk songs of old-world Korea. They previously performed in person at the 2020 globalFEST.
January 19:
Kombilesa Mí (Colombia) is a hip-hop collective forging a new generation of Afro-Colombian traditions from San Basilio de Palenque – a combination of rap, folklore and
Palenquero.
Northern Cree (Canada) is a powwow and Round Dance drum and singing group from Maskwacis, Alberta. Founded by the Wood brothers of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, most members also come from the Treaty 6 and are part of Cree Nation.
Son Rompe Pera (Mexico) is a band of brothers rethinking folkloric music, playing their own unique blend of garage, marimba, cumbia and punk rock.
January 20:
Al Bilali Soudan (Mali) is a family band from Timbuktu playing traditional and contemporary Tuareg music.
Kiran Ahluwalia (India | Canada | USA) leads a band of electric guitar, accordion, organ, tabla, drums and bass combining open-hearted Indian vocals, Sufi songs and African grooves.
Tufan Derince (Turkey | Netherlands) weaves jazz, hard rock, hip hop, and EDM with the raw and heavy sound of contemporary electrified folk and wedding music. He previously performed in person at the 2020 globalFEST.