Gary Clark Jr. : NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

April 16, 2019, Stephen Thompson Gary Clark Jr. had good reason to sweat. The bluesrock singer and guitarist opted to play his firstever Tiny Desk concert in front of a huge crowd that warmed the room considerably while clad in a thick knit cap and heavy jacket. Plus, he d brought his young son on tour with him and had to contend with a traditional parenting dilemma: How do you bring your kid to the office and still get work done But once Clark and his formidable band got done cranking out three songs from this year s blistering This Land, he wasn t the only one in the room who needed to wipe away the sweat. Clark s set leaned toward some of This Land s softer sentiments When I m Gone is about missing his family on the road, while Pearl Cadillac exudes gratitude for his mother s sacrifices leaving its more politically incendiary material for louder live shows. But these songs still roared with the assurance and force of a showman at the