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Bobby Carter | March 5, 2025
Of the 30 million people who have watched Daniel Caesar’s Tiny Desk from 2018, plenty of them raved about the band, specifically the bass player. Little did we know that the young, unassuming musician named Saya Gray would be playing at the Desk seven years later, this time front and center.
Gray’s pop songs are experimental in nature, so I was eager to hear how her music would cozy up to our space. That inclination to stretch out and try anything comes from her musical family: Her mother, who moved from Japan to Canada, founded Toronto’s Discover Through the Arts music school and her dad, a jazz trumpeter, studied at the Berklee College of Music.
Gray leans into the challenge of the Tiny Desk and strips elements away. Like magic, she gives us these light and soulful interpretations of songs from SAYA, plus a throwback to "IF THERE’S NO SEAT IN THE SKY (WILL YOU FORGIVE ME???)" from her 2022 debut 19 MASTERS.
SET LIST
"SHELL ( OF A MAN )"
"..THUS IS WHY (I DON’T SPRING 4 LOVE)"
"IF THERE’S NO SEAT IN THE SKY (WILL YOU FORGIVE ME???)"
"LIE DOWN.."
MUSICIANS
Saya Gray: vocals, guitar, bass
Lucian Gray: guitar
John Mavro: drums, bass, guitar
Ace G: keys, background vocals
Kola Rai: background vocals
Taj Sapp: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Wendy Li
Audio Engineer: Andie Huether
Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dora Levite
Photographer: Michael Zamora
Tiny Desk Team: Lars Gotrich, Kara Frame
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
#nprmusic #tinydesk #sayagray
