“Vibes Don’t Lie” In Leon Thomas’ NPR ‘Tiny Desk’ Debut

Leon Thomas joins the long list of performers to showcase their talent for NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series. On Thursday (Feb. 20), the 31-year-old joined the platform with a live band for a melodic blend of his latest work and past releases.

According to NPR, the R&B singer was well prepared for the opportunity and not just because of his vocal talent. He was able to plan his travel to avoid weather-related delays and arrive 30 minutes ahead of his call time.

Beginning his set, the Grammy-winner opened with “VIBES DON’T LIE,” “YES IT IS,” and the title track from his latest album MUTT. Released last year, “Mutt” was named VIBE’s best R&B song of 2024, with the full project also topping our ranked albums list.

“For me, jazz is the root of who I am,” explained the Brooklyn native to GRAMMY.com of the sound of MUTT. “My grandfather was really cool with Art Blakey back in the day, and he always played Miles Davis and John Coltrane. I try to find ways to implement some of the chord progressions that I hear in my head into my music. That will always be adjacent to Neo-soul, but I don’t necessarily want to do a whole live jazz album as a 30-year-old right now.”

He added, “A lot of decisions that I made are also rock-influenced as well. I was listening to a lot of Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin during the making of the album. I’m finding ways to sneak in my influences, even though I know I’ll lock in on these R&B charts.”

Leon Thomas’ Tiny Desk continued with “Breaking Point” and “Treasure In The Hills” from his 2023 album Electric Dusk, dedicating the former to his grandfather opera singer John Anthony who recently passed away.

Watch Leon Thomas perform for NPR’s Tiny Desk above.