Leon Thomas Performs His First NPR Tiny Desk Concert

The Nickelodeon/Disney-to-musician pipeline has so far primarily yielded pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande. Leon Thomas is different, though, as the former Victorious star (alongside Grande) has increasingly become a major player in the R&B space. His 2024 album Mutt was a real breakthrough moment for Thomas, and now he’s hit a significant milestone: He just performed his first NPR Tiny Desk Concert, the video of which was shared today (February 20).

Over the course of 20 smooth minutes, he busted out a five-song set featuring “Vibes Don’t Lie,” “Yes It Is,” “Mutt,” “Breaking Point,” and “Treasure In The Hills.” He was joined by a backing band featuring Chris Payton (guitar), Ali Roots (keys and piano), Joe “Jough” Cleveland (bass), Quintin “Q” Gulledge (drums), Ayana Layli (background vocals), and Sha’Leah Nikole (background vocals).

Thomas previously told Uproxx of Mutt in an interview, “I went through some breakups and some turbulence that really turned into some amazing songs. It was cool to live life and express myself through music on this new project. It’s definitely a labor of love and I feel like I really found an amazing pocket to live in for this new album.”

Check out the full Tiny Desk performance above.