Yasmin Williams Taps Into Skillful ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ Performance

Yasmin Williams showcased her array of talents for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series. The guitarist performed songs from her 2024 album, Acadia, and more at NPR headquarters in Washington D.C.

Williams was raised nearby in Northern Virginia and had friends and family (including her mother) in attendance for her Tiny Desk debut. Williams began the set playing guitar while accompanied by Allison de Groot on banjo and Tatiana Hargreaves on fiddle for, “Hummingbird.” The Tiny Desk performance was the first time the trio played the song together since recording it for Arcadia.

Another Acadia song, “Sisters,” saw Williams joined by a string section composed of viola players Lelia-Michelle Walker and Morgan Brown and violinist Maggy Simon, along with Marcus Grant on marimba and Amadou Kouyate on djembe.

Williams demonstrated her technique of playing guitar and kalimba simultaneously on “Guitka” while accompanied by Kouyate on percussion. Williams previously submitted a recording of “Guitka” as her entry for the 2018 Tiny Desk Contest.

Williams, who wore tap shoes for additional percussion elements, then went solo to close out her Tiny Desk Concert with “Restless Heart.” The song appeared on Williams’ 2018 debut album, Unwind.

Watch Yasmin Williams’ Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music below: