On September 12, four-time Grammy Award winner Ed Sheeran will join NPR’s iconic Tiny Desk for an intimate, live-streamed concert following the release of his new album ‘Play’ earlier that day. Sheeran will perform a selection of new music on his loop station in the first-ever livestreamed Tiny Desk concert of this scale. The concert will reach more than 60 million subscribers across NPR and Sheeran’s YouTube channels.
The concert airs live at noon ET on NPR Music’s YouTube channel and will be available following the show on Ed Sheeran’s channel and NPR Music’s channel.
“The Desk has always been about breaking down the walls between artist and audience,” said Bobby Carter, series producer and host of NPR’s Tiny Desk. “With this livestream, we’re taking that intimacy worldwide. And trust me — Ed Sheeran is going to make history.”
NPR’s Tiny Desk has become known for its authenticity, and this livestream takes that experience to the next level by bringing listeners in the room, in the moment.
“The Tiny Desk concerts that regularly publish are meticulously post-produced by our talented audio and video producers,” said NPR Music’s Executive Producer Suraya Mohamed. “We are excited to share a live, raw version of a Tiny Desk concert with our audience — something we haven’t done since 2019.”
Since launching in 2008, NPR’s Tiny Desk series has become one of the most celebrated and influential concert series in the world. From rising stars to global icons, artists perform stripped-down sets behind the Desk at the NPR headquarters. By focusing on raw, unfiltered artistry, Tiny Desk has redefined what live performance can be. With millions of subscribers across YouTube and social media, NPR’s Tiny Desk reaches more than 20 million viewers each month and generated more than 62 million views across platforms in the past year.
This marks Sheeran’s second collaboration with NPR. He first appeared in a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert in 2021, filmed during the work-from-home era of the global pandemic. Now, with ‘Play,’ Sheeran’s eight studio album, Sheeran returns to bring never-before-performed music to the Tiny Desk through a rare livestream.