Anamaria Sayre | August 17, 2023
Shrouded in all black, flamenco garb and flanked by his very own angelitos at the Tiny Desk, Spanish singer Omar Montes is the shining embodiment of the contrasts he constantly plays with.

Dancing along the border of tradition and modernity — flamenco and hip hop — the artist recounts his story as a kid of Roma heritage growing up on the streets of Madrid, over the melodic heartbeat of clapping hands. Opening the show with “Patio de la Cárcel,” he trades synthetic beats for transitive horns and lays bare his soul with vivid bars about life in his barrio. Locking in his audience with a heart-thumping trombone line, he switches to flamenco-driven “Metió en un Lío.” Settling back into the beat of clapping hands, he and his band dance through the up-tempo “La Llama del Amor.”

Omar Montes walked into the building on a video call with his grandma — one of the most important people in his life. He closes out his performance with “Conmigo,” infused with the kind of romance you’d imagine his abuela taught him. “For you I would bring down the moon,” he coos. The Spanish artist exudes tradition and soul as he centers his barrio, his people, his familia in his show — bringing a little piece of Spain to the rest of the world.

SET LIST
“Patio de la Cárcel”
“Metió en un Lío”
“La Llama del Amor”
“Conmigo”

MUSICIANS
Omar Montes: vocals
Oscar Barrul: vocals, palms
Jose del Curro: vocals, palms
Alejandro Paez: electric bass
Cesar Galvez: flamenco guitar
Eduardo Figueroa: flamenco cajon
Marcos Ortega: trumpet
Javier Campos: saxophone, flute
Roberto Lorenzo: trombone

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Sofia Seidel
Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #omarmontes