María José Llergo: Tiny Desk Concert

Felix Contreras | July 8, 2024 In the moment that María José Llergo took her place behind the Tiny Desk, those of us lucky enough to be in the audience (and now anyone who watches the video document it — lucky you) were transported to her native Andalusia in southern Spain, the traditional home of flamenco. But the Spanish music scene that Llergo is part of is exploding with new energy, too. Her vocals are based in the Arab-influenced vocal trilling of cante jondo, but like many artists from Spain these days, she uses tradition as a springboard for stylistic mash-ups with hip-hop, R&B and jazz. Her cross-genre expressions display a nuanced balance of her respect for the deeply-ingrained cultural influences left over from the 16th century that is her family background as well as 21st century music that is her day-to-day reality. Llergo’s performance is propelled by a vivacious spirit, and her final song, “LO QUE SIENTO,” is a meditation on and homage to what it means to be a Spanish musician in this moment when the boundaries of genre and tradition can be both celebrated and expanded. SET LIST “RUEDA, RUEDA“ “JURAMENTO“ “SUPERPODER“ “APRENDIENDO A VOLAR“ “LO QUE SIENTO“ MUSICIANS María José Llergo Sanchez: vocals Julio Martin Macias: keyboards Carlos Sosa Zambrano: drums Juan Manuel Montoya: bass, guitar TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Anamaria Sayre Director: Joshua Bryant Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Editor: Maia Stern Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Christina Shaman Audio Engineer: Carleigh Strange Production Assistant: Elle Mannion Photographer: Michael Zamora Tiny Desk Team: Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins #tinydesk #nprmusic #mariajosellergo