Adrian Quesada: Tiny Desk Concert

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Felix Contreras | September 30, 2025
Adrian Quesada’s body of work reflects a restless creativity. The resume for the Austin, Texas-based musician, producer and composer includes Grupo Fantasma, Black Pumas, Brownout and any number of collaborations. He’s constantly looking for new sounds and voices.

So what does Quesada bring to the Tiny Desk? Four singers, four boleros. Angélica Garcia, Flor de Toloache’s Mireya Ramos, Trish Toledo and iLe each offer something distinct and personal to these songs originally found on two volumes of Quesada’s Boleros Psicodélicos.

Bolero, a Cuban song form that has not changed much over the centuries, has always been an opportunity for vocalists to inhabit the undeniable drama of the lyrics. Heartbreak is a big deal in boleros and it’s easy (and common) for vocalists to overdo the drama with overwrought vocal gymnastics. That is not the case here. Each vocalist has the discipline and artistic vision to insert just enough of themselves to leave an impression, but not overstate their case.

In the right hands, and voices, vocalists can bring back memories of pain and nostalgia — just hearing a deeply meaningful lyric belted out in just the right way can bring a grown man to tears. Not that this happened to me during these performances. I’m just saying.

SET LIST

“Ídolo (feat. Angélica Garcia)”
(written by Adrian Quesada, Angélica Garcia and Dan Ubick)

“Tus Tormentas (feat. Mireya Ramos)”
(written by Adrian Quesada, Mireya Ramos, Andres “Velcro” Ramos)

“Hoy Que Llueve (feat. Trish Toledo)”
(written by Roberto Cantoral García)

“Mentiras Con Cariño (feat. iLe)”
(written by Adrian Quesada and iLe)

MUSICIANS
Adrian Quesada: guitar
Angélica Garcia: vocals
Mireya Ramos: vocals, violin
Trish Toledo: vocals
iLe: vocals
Joshy Soul: keys
Ismael Cancel: congas, shakers
Terin Ector: bass
Jay Mumford: drums
Kiku Enomoto: violin
Andrew Griffin: viola
Allison Seidner: cello

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Felix Contreras
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
Audio Engineer: Jay Czys
Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Tiny Desk Team: Josh Newell, Ashley Pointer
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#tinydesk #nprmusic #adrianquesada

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