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The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Stephen Thompson | Aug, 10, 2021
Flock of Dimes may be a “solo” project for Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, but she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to invite a few friends over. You’ll spot their familiar faces all over this video: Mountain Man’s Amelia Randall Meath, Molly Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, percussionist Matthew McCaughan from Bon Iver… you even get full attendance from Sylvan Esso, given that Meath is seated alongside her partner Nick Sanborn. (He doesn’t play in the set, but he did co-produce Flock of Dimes’ latest album, so Wasner asked him to sit in and bring a book to read.)

The result is a communal set — filmed at Sylvan Esso’s new studio in Durham, N.C., called Betty’s — that doesn’t merely re-create three of the songs from this year’s Head of Roses. These acoustic performances actually shed new light, thanks to radiant and radically different arrangements, while fully capturing the warmth we look for from Tiny Desk concerts. (Plus, with nine people in the frame, it’s a cast large enough that when they clap between songs, they almost sound like a crowd.)

SET LIST
* “Two”
* “Price Of Blue”
* “Awake For The Sunrise”

MUSICIANS
* Jenn Wasner: vocals, guitar (Flock of Dimes)
* Amelia Randall Meath: backing vocals (Mountain Man, Sylvan Esso)
* Alexandra Sauser-Monnig: backing vocals (Mountain Man, Daughter of Swords)
* Molly Sarlé: backing vocals (Mountain Man)
* Joe Westerland: percussion (Megafaun)
* Matthew McCaughan: percussion (Bon Iver)
* Alan Good Parker: guitar (Natalie Prass, Matthew E. White)
* Michael Libramento: guitar (Hiss Golden Messenger, Dr. Dog, Floating Action)
* Head of Roses co-producer Nick Sanborn

CREDITS
* Video: Spencer Kelly
* Audio: Chris Boerner
* Filmed at Betty’s in Durham, NC

TINY DESK TEAM
* Producer: Bob Boilen
* Video Producer: Maia Stern
* Audio Mastering: Andy Huether
* Tiny Production Team: Kara Frame, Josh Rogosin, Gabrielle Pierre, Bobby Carter
* Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
* Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann