Lainey Wilson Brings Big Energy to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series

Over the past few years, Lainey Wilson has proven time and again that she and her band have plenty of energy to rock stadium crowds. However, the size of the venue doesn’t dictate the amount of fire that Wilson packs into her sets. She proved that today with her NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts started in 2008 and take place at the desk of former All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C. Over the years, an eclectic list of artists have come to the NPR studio to record short live sets in the intimate setting. Those artists include Lucinda Williams, Trey Anastasio, Pat Benatar, T-Pain, and many more. Now, Wilson is leaving her mark on the series.

[RELATED: Lainey Wilson Explains the Importance of Having Her Touring Band Play on ‘Whirlwind’]

Lainey Wilson Rocks Out During Her Tiny Desk Concert

Recorded just days before the release of Whirlwind, Lainey Wilson’s Tiny Desk Concert features three songs from her new album. She performed “Hang Tight Honey,” “4x4xU,” and “Ring Finger” from Whirlwind before closing her set with “Heart Like a Truck.”

Wilson didn’t come to the NPR studio alone. Like most of her concerts, she brought along her touring band plus one. Aslan Freeman (guitar), Tommy Scifres (bass), Kevin Nolan (Keys, guitar), Matt Nolan (drums), and Sav Madigan (fiddle, mandolin, guitar) backed her during the abbreviated set.

After kicking off the set with “Hang Tight Honey,” Wilson shared her thoughts about the concert. “Thank y’all so much. This is a big deal for me and my band. We’ve been wanting to play this for so long,” she said. “We’re at Tiny Desk which is kind of blowing my mind right now. This has just been a bucket list thing for us. … We’re going to let our hair down and we’re going to have a good time,” she added.

Later in the set, she said, “I would consider myself a songwriter before I would consider myself an artist. I’ve been in Nashville for going on 13 years now and how I even got to where I’m at now is through my songwriting. That’s how I tried to get my foot in the door.”

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