Watch: Billy Strings Makes NPR ‘Tiny Desk’ Debut, 12 Years After Submitting Audition Tape

At long last, Billy Strings has taken his talents to NPR’s Tiny Desk. 

The maestro and his band, Alex Hargreaves (fiddle), Billy Failing (banjo, vocals), Royal Masat (bass, vocals), and Jarrod Walker (mandolin, vocals) honored the bluegrass tradition while gathered around a single microphone during their visit to the music division of National Public Radio’s Washington, D.C., headquarters in a performance deemed “the way these instruments are meant to sound.”

In the video, which spans four original tracks, the ensemble opens with a piece from Strings’ third solo album, Renewal. “Red Daisy” carries a harmonious pickup, Strings led, and is supported by his fellow contributors, including an instrumental interlude turned out by Corvallis, Ore.’s Hargreaves, who elegantly drags the bow across all four wires–adding a complementary cry before shuffling a solo over to Walker. 

Upon completing the first number, the bandleader extends thanks, and “Well, we’re really glad to be here. I think we’ve all watched so many of these, and we’ve always, always, wanted to do this. So, thank you for having us here, man, this is awesome.”

After a brief tune-up, Strings prompts the band to move into “My Alice,” a feature off his latest studio record, 2024’s Highway Prayers, and a lauded live staple. Stings’ acoustic strums initiate the number before a gentle pickup from the other four instrumentalists, which carries a sound that could have been heard next to a crackling white oak campfire in the Appalachian Mountains a century prior. 

Between each number, there’s an emphasis on the instruments: “Once again, we want to get these things right in tune for you.” Before turning to Walker to take the lead on “Malfunction Junction,” another feature from Highway Prayers. Around 10:20, strings mingle: mando, guitar, bass, and banjo, before the namesake gives a first-class demonstration of what makes a thoughtful solo, with lively responses from his bandmates to take turns fastening their own touches. 

Ahead of the final song, Strings shares a reflection of the experience, telling the studio audience, “We’ve been lucky to play a lot of cool venues. But this one’s different. It has that same soul to it because — I’ve seen so many amazing performances that happened right here and I kind of believe that love and spirit kind of soaks into this environment, so just standing here feels like a special thing.”

Before their final delivery, “Gild the Lily,” Strings asks his bandmates about their favorite Tiny Desk Concerts, to which Masat responds, “Anderson .Paak, of course.” Strings offers his own praise: “The late great Mac Miller” and “It’s cool to see Phish here,” giving credit to jam torchcarriers and concluding, “We kinda grew up on this,” before mentioning his own pre-fame audition to be on the program… “It only took like 12 more years.”

Watch below.