Annie DiRusso: Tiny Desk Concert

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:26:36 +0000

Stephen Thompson | December 8, 2025
For those of us who agonized over 2025’s song-of-the-summer sweepstakes, Annie DiRusso provided a much-needed balm: Super Pedestrian, an album crammed full of funny, charismatic, bittersweet pop-rock songs about doomed Gen-Z romance and the joy of movies, sports and other distractions from… well, doomed Gen-Z romance. Whether or not 2025 ever gave you the exact song of the summer you craved, DiRusso gave some of us our album of the summer.

Now, she’s back for a fresh victory lap. DiRusso recently released a deluxe edition of Super Pedestrian with some welcome bonus tracks, and now we can unveil her first-ever Tiny Desk concert. In a five-song pageant full of clever costuming, synchronized dance moves and even a few behind-the-back guitar riffs, DiRusso and her band replicate their killer stage show without sacrificing the intimacy that makes the Tiny Desk special.

Still, she had to modify her stage patter, at least a little bit.

“Usually, when I play shows, I do this whole bit where I tell the plot of School of Rock like it’s my life,” DiRusso says, “and then I introduce every member of the band as ‘Annie DiRusso.’ But when I tried that [in rehearsal], just talking, I just seemed like the biggest a****** ever.”

If you haven’t yet dug into her vibrant, infectious music, may this be your first step toward a triumphant summer of 2026, complete with a killer Annie DiRusso soundtrack.

SET LIST
“Back in Town”
“Hybrid”
“Legs”
“Coming Soon”
“It's Good to Be Hot in the Summer”

MUSICIANS
Annie DiRusso: vocals, guitar
James Eichman: guitar, banjo, background vocals
book NOT brooke: keys, bass, cello, background vocals
Eden Joel: bass, guitar, background vocals
Levi Bennett: drums

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Robin Hilton
Director: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Video Editor: Kara Frame
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Alanté Serene
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#tinydesk #nprmusic #anniedirusso

Support for NPR Music comes from Moises. A platform created by musicians, for musicians and used by 70 million artists worldwide – to learn, create, and collaborate. Available for download.