This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.
Felix Contreras | September 30, 2025 Adrian Quesada’s body of work reflects a restless creativity. The resume for the Austin, Texas-based musician, producer and composer includes Grupo Fantasma, Black Pumas, Brownout and any number of collaborations. He’s constantly looking for new sounds and voices.
So what does Quesada bring to the Tiny Desk? Four singers, four boleros. Angélica Garcia, Flor de Toloache’s Mireya Ramos, Trish Toledo and iLe each offer something distinct and personal to these songs originally found on two volumes of Quesada’s Boleros Psicodélicos.
Bolero, a Cuban song form that has not changed much over the centuries, has always been an opportunity for vocalists to inhabit the undeniable drama of the lyrics. Heartbreak is a big deal in boleros and it’s easy (and common) for vocalists to overdo the drama with overwrought vocal gymnastics. That is not the case here. Each vocalist has the discipline and artistic vision to insert just enough of themselves to leave an impression, but not overstate their case.
In the right hands, and voices, vocalists can bring back memories of pain and nostalgia — just hearing a deeply meaningful lyric belted out in just the right way can bring a grown man to tears. Not that this happened to me during these performances. I’m just saying.
SET LIST “No Juego (feat. Angélica Garcia)” “Tus Tormentas (feat. Mireya Ramos)” “Hoy Que Llueve (feat. Trish Toledo)” “Mentiras Con Cariño (feat. iLe)”
MUSICIANS Adrian Quesada: guitar Angélica Garcia: vocals Mireya Ramos: vocals, violin Trish Toledo: vocals iLe: vocals Joshy Soul: keys Ismael Cancel: congas, shakers Terin Ector: bass Jay Mumford: drums Kiku Enomoto: violin Andrew Griffin: viola Allison Seidner: cello
TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Felix Contreras Director/Editor: Kara Frame Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel Audio Engineer: Jay Czys Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez Series Editor: Lars Gotrich Tiny Desk Team: Josh Newell, Ashley Pointer Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
#tinydesk #nprmusic #adrianquesada
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