After his breakout 2020 album Live Forever put him on the map as a welcome force in the world of indie rock, Bartees Strange has been steadily gaining more and more fans due to his eclectic mix of rambunctious punk, tender R&B, and even country-leaning tinges — at least in today’s jam — that might be credited to his Oklahoma roots. Bartees Strange is a band anchored by their namesake, Bartees Cox, who serves as the primary songwriter and frontman for the group.
Co-signed not just by Uproxx, but by renowned tastemaker NPR, the band was invited to participate in one of the radio platform’s signature Tiny Desk concerts. Due to recent safety concerns because of COVID-19, however, this show is part of a subseries that was filmed at home, and for this band that means they’re streaming to you from a Washington, DC basement. There’s no tiny desk in the shot, but plenty of instruments and plants, as the basement setting is actually where the band practices IRL.
Whipping through a medley of songs off Live Forever, the band kicks off with “Boomer” before moving into “Mustang,” followed by “In A Cab” and finishing the set out with “Flagey God.” In some brief banter in between songs, Bartees also recommends some music he’s been enjoying, by Yves Tumor and Aaron Dessner. Though we can’t go to a Bartees Strange live show for a few more months now — or maybe even until next year — this Tiny Desk show is a nice holdover. Check it out above.
