Bernie And The Believers Feat. Essence: Tiny Desk Concert

Nov. 12, 2018, Bob Boilen The story of Bernie and the Believers is the most powerful I ve ever come across at the Tiny Desk. It s about a beautiful act of compassion that ultimately led to this performance, and left me and my coworkers in tears. I discovered the music of Bernie Dalton among the thousands of Tiny Desk Contest entries we received earlier this year. The band s singer, Essence Goldman, had submitted the entry and shared Bernie s story. You should hear her tell it in her own words at the Tiny Desk (and I choke up every time I hear it). In summary she said that a few years ago, Bernie a father, a songwriter and a musician in his midforties, and an avid surfer with a day job as a pool cleaner answered an ad she had posted offering voice lessons. Essence was a performer trying to manage her own career as a single mom, and Bernie was trying to improve his talents. Bernie drove 90minutes from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, eagerly showing up early to his voice lessons with Essence. But not lo