Few artists can completely dismantle your heart, fill it with wonder and awe at the miracle of life, and put it back together quite like Madi Diaz. Her songs give space to contemplate life's biggest questions: How did we get here? What's the purpose of anything? Does God exist? And, as you'll see in this three-hanky Tiny Desk, she can do it all with just her voice and a guitar.
The opening two cuts from this performance, "Feel Something" and "Heavy Metal," are both standouts from Diaz's most recent album, Fatal Optimist. Like much of her work, they're songs about seekers navigating the messy human experience — the ways we overly romanticize young love, the passing of time, and the inevitability of growing older and becoming your parents.
Then she brought some of us in the office to tears. In "God Person," from 2024's Weird Faith, she considers the possibility that God actually does exist, and can be found in life's smallest details: seeing a storm billow on the horizon, sitting by a fire with friends or staring out at the ocean. But Diaz saves her most vulnerable moment for the end, closing with "Think of Me," a fiery kiss-off — and a desperate plea — to a cheating ex.
SET LIST
- "Feel Something"
- "Heavy Metal"
- "God Person"
- "For Months Now"
- "Think of Me"
MUSICIANS
- Madi Diaz: vocals, guitar
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant
- Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Michael Zamora
- Tiny Desk Team: Kara Frame, Felix Contreras
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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