Anderson .Paak Joins The Free Nationals During NPR ‘Tiny Desk’ Performance [Watch]

Since its inception in 2008, NPR‘s popular Tiny Desk Concert video series has seen countless guests and garnered hundreds of millions, if not billions, of views. Back in 2016, Tiny Desk saw its most-watched video of all time with a performance by Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals, racking up over 48 million YouTube views at the time of this article. April 20th, 2020 saw The Free Nationals triumphantly return to the Tiny Desk in support of their recently released, debut, self-titled album, and the band brought several guests, including Paak, along with them.

Related: Allen Stone Performs On NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ Series [Watch]

The funk and soul-fusion four-piece opened things up with “Beauty & Essex”, which featured India Shawn on vocals and saw keyboardist Ron Avant add some flavor with his talkbox. In between songs, bassist Kelsey Gonzales exclaimed gratefulness for the opportunity to appear on another Tiny Desk before drummer Callum Connor led the band into “On Sight”, which once again featured Shawn. The song was a bit more mellow than the last, really accentuating Shawn and Avant’s vocals, until guitarist José Rios jumped in at the end with a heavily distorted guitar solo.

“Do we have a, uh, special guest?” Avant asked Rios.

“Nah, stop. You playin’,” Rios responded. “Ladies and gentlemen, is cheeky Andy here?” he continued, before Anderson .Paak emerged from behind the bookshelves. Paak would sit-in on drums and vocals for “Gidget”, the third song off the Free Nationals’ studio album. He, Shawn, and Avant would all share vocal responsibilities on the upbeat track, which once again saw the return of the talkbox. To close out the performance, the Free Nationals invited reggae artist Chronixx to the desk for a run-through “Eternal Light”.

Below, watch the Free Nationals’ entire, 19-minute Tiny Desk performance.

The Free Nationals w/Anderson .Paak, India Shawn, Chronixx – Tiny Desk Concert

[Video: NPR]

Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals currently have several dates booked together throughout the summer, however, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it is unclear whether or not those shows will continue as scheduled. Click here for the latest tour information and check out Live For Live Music‘s concert cancellation tracker for updates on shows around the country.