NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Currently Playing: Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble: Tiny Desk Concert

Felix Contreras | May 15, 2026 Is it possible to be ubiquitous and behind-the-scenes at the same time? That pretty much sums up Don Was and his long career in the music business. After co-leading the funky pop-rock band Was (Not Was) in the 1980s, Was went on to win an armful of Grammy awards as a producer. He's worked with Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Elton John, Ringo Starr and Bob Weir, to name just a few. Since 2012, he has been president of the legendary Blue Note Records. Was is also a son of Detroit. In recent years, he put together a band under his own name for the first time: Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble. "We are on a mission to promulgate the indigenous sounds of our hometown of Detroit, Michigan," he explains. This is a tight and powerful group, with an emphasis on the groove, but all eyes and ears are on lead vocalist Steffanie Christi'an. In this Tiny Desk performance, she breathes a very different kind of fire into the Grateful Dead classic "The Music Never Stopped" and smolders on re-working of Hank Williams' "I Ain't Got Nothing But Time." The entire set is a perfect example of how, as the Dead used to say, "the music plays the band." SET LIST "The Music Never Stopped" "You Asked, I Came" "Midnight Marauders" "I Ain't Got Nothin' But Time" "Insane" MUSICIANS Don Was: bass Steffanie Christi'an: vocals Wayne Gerard Milton: guitar Luis Resto: keys Dave McMurray: tenor sax Vincent Chandler: trombone John Douglas: trumpet Jeff Canady: drums Mahindi Masai: percussion Herschel Boone: background vocals Terena Boone: background vocals TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Felix Contreras Director/Editor: Maia Stern Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer Photographer: Vanessa Castillo Series Editor: Lars Gotrich Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Executive Director: Sonali Mehta Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton #donwas #nprmusic #tinydesk Support for NPR Music comes from Capital One. Proud supporters of NPR Music and the Tiny Desk Contest. What's in your wallet? Learn more at Capital One dot com.