NPR’s Tiny Desk is celebrating Black Music Month with a stacked lineup of performances by female artists, including a set from the Queen of Funk herself, Chaka Khan.
Running just over a half-hour with seven songs, Khan’s performance showcased her vocal prowess and electrifying presence. Opening with her 1974 hit, “Tell Me Something Good,” her five-piece band (plus three backing vocalists) brought the oomph, locking into an irresistible groove with ease.
After the opening song, Khan sat down at the titular “tiny desk” for a moment and addressed the crowd. “Thank you for being here at Tiny Desk — it is tiny,” she joked, before adding “but it’s nice to be so close together with all of you.” From there, she performed hits like “Through the Fire,” “I’m Every Woman,” “Ain’t Nobody,” and more.
Watch the full video of Khan’s Tiny Desk concert below.
Meanwhile, Khan said last December that she’s done with touring, for the most part. Still, she has a number of live dates coming up, including stops in the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Spain, plus a few one-off American dates at the end of the summer, including a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in July. Grab tickets for her US dates here.
In other Tiny Desk news, Tierra Whack performed as part of the ongoing Black Music Month series earlier this week, even bringing out special guest the Phillie Phanatic for a song.