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Panda Bear: Tiny Desk Concert

When we heard that Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) was touring with a full band for the first time in more than 25 years of releasing music as a solo artist, we knew we had to (finally) get him in for a Tiny Desk.

Recreating his beautifully experimental studio work for a live setting was never easy to do alone, not without a lot of pre-recorded loops and backing tracks. But here, Panda Bear's wondrous music comes to life with the help of four additional friends on bass, drums and electronics. Most importantly, they also provide the sweet, multi-layered harmonies fans have long loved in Panda Bear's recorded work.

The group largely focuses on Panda Bear's new album, Sinister Grift, opening with the glittery and wistful "Ferry Lady," followed by "Defense," a track Lennox originally recorded as a duet with Cindy Lee. They close with "Song for Ariel," a relatively deep cut that was the original prototype for Animal Collective's "Guys Eyes" from the 2009 album Merriweather Post Pavilion.

SET LIST

  • "Ferry Lady"
  • "Defense"
  • "Song for Ariel"

MUSICIANS

  • Noah Lennox: vocals, guitar
  • Rivka Ravede: electronics, background vocals
  • Tomé Silva: drums, background vocals
  • Maria Reis: keys, background vocals
  • Tim Koh: bass, background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Robin Hilton
  • Director/Editor: Maia Stern
  • Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
  • Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Grace Raver
  • Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
  • Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Ashley Pointer
  • Tiny Desk Team: Lars Gotrich, Joshua Bryant
  • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
  • Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

Copyright 2025 NPR

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Robin Hilton
Robin Hilton is known as the host of NPR's New Music Friday podcast, the former co-host of All Songs Considered and for his name that appears in white bubble letters above every concert at the Tiny Desk, a series he helped start in 2008 with Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson. He produced several early acts, including the second-ever performer in the series, Vic Chesnutt, and suggested naming the series Tiny Desk after Tiny Desk Unit, a band Boilen was in in 1979. He's since produced performances at the Desk by everyone from Sharon Van Etten and Son Lux to Steve Martin, Harry Styles and Chance the Rapper.