Watch Turnstile Bring Stage Dives To NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert

Turnstile turned NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert into a punk-jazz party with brass, piano, and a full-on stage diving moment.

Turnstile have returned to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, and this time they brought the energy of their live shows directly into the office. The Baltimore hardcore group delivered a five-song set that blended their usual intensity with jazz-inspired arrangements, ending with frontman Brendan Yates launching himself into the crowd.

Backed by saxophonist Tobias Moody, trumpeter Theljon Allen, and pianist Troy Long, the band reimagined tracks from their latest album NEVER ENOUGH. The performance opened with ‘Dreaming,’ turned into a groove-heavy showcase with brass and piano lifting the melodies. ‘Sunshower’ kept the energy sharp, leaning more into Turnstile’s punk roots.

At the halfway point, Long played a brief solo interlude before Yates paused to reflect on the significance of the moment for Turnstile. “This being somewhat of a hometown show for us, there’s a lot of very important people in the room: a lot of personal heroes, a lot of people that we grew up with, people that are family, people that are friends, people that we found music with, people that we made music with,” Yates said. “All that to say, thank you for always being there, and I love you.”

That set up a stripped-back version of ‘Never Enough,’ reworked into a soul-jazz piece that highlighted piano and trumpet, before the band closed with ‘Birds.’ True to form, Yates climbed onto a desk mid-song and flipped into the crowd, riding a wave of hands as the music blasted.

Check out the full performance from Turnstile below:

It was a stark contrast to Turnstile’s first Tiny Desk appearance, recorded remotely during the pandemic with stuffed animals and plush toys standing in for fans.

The full Tiny Desk Concert session is available to watch now, showcasing Turnstile at their most adventurous and their most unrestrained.