“I just wanted to take a moment before I start saying – lower your expectations,” Lewis Capaldi told the audience before his Tiny Desk performance. He then immediately launched into a beautifully crafted and vocally stunning four-piece set.
Beginning with a special arrangement of “Before You Go”, Capaldi was flanked by a full band, including two horns – something new for the Scottish singer. Her second song, “Wish You the Best,” is the heartbreaking Capaldi-esque final single from her upcoming album. Broken by the desire to be celestial sent. Capaldi joked that he didn’t have much to say about the exclusive premiere of his upcoming song, “Heavenly Kind of State of Mind,” only describing it as three minutes long.
If you didn’t know anything about Capaldi before watching his Tiny Desk, the self-deprecating humor mixed between heartbreaking vocal ballads will quickly catch up with you. Capaldi brought NPR audiences to tears, both laughing at sexually suggestive jokes about office size and lyrics about the complexities of moving on after a relationship ends. “What happens now? Capaldi asked the Tiny Desk crew as he finished “Someone You Loved”, the last song in his set. Time to loop the video and grab a box of tissues.
LIST OF SETTINGS
- “Before you leave”
- “I wish you the best”
- “A Heavenly State of Mind”
- “Someone You Loved”
THE MUSICIANS
- Lewis Capaldi: vocals, guitar
- Aiden Halliday: piano
- Freddie Sheed: drums
- Aidan Beattie: bass, keyboards
- Andy Black: guitar
- Matt Owens: trumpet, keyboards
- Reginald Chapman: trombone
CREDITS
- Producer: Jill Britton
- Director/Editor: Sofia Seidel
- Sound engineer: Josh Rogosin
- Creative Director: Bob Boilen
- Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Sofia Seidel, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Zayrha Rodriguez
- Audio Assistant: Brian Jarboe
- Production Assistant: Pilar Galván
- Small Office Team: Suraya Mohamed, Maia Stern, Hazel Cills, Marissa Lorusso, Ashley Pointer, Pilar Galván
- Vice President, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
- Senior Vice President, Programming: Anya Grundmann