Bob Boilen, the founder of NPR’s All Songs Considered and the popular Tiny Desk Concert series, has announced his retirement from the organization after over three decades.
“After 35 years, I am leaving NPR,” Boilen tweeted. “I’ve had the thrill of creating Tiny Desk Concerts, All Songs Considered, directing All Things Considered for 18 years and so much more. I love the people I’ve worked with, but it’s time to find new challenges. thank you for listening/watching.”
According to NPR journalist Lars Gotrich, Boilen’s last day will be October 2nd. Boilen — who served as director for All Things Considered, NPR’s premier news program, from 1989 to 2007 — started All Songs Considered, its online music show, in 2000. The program was inspired by the musical “buttons” Boilen, a lifelong musician, played in between segments on the news show.
Boilen and NPR Music Editor Stephen Thompson created the Tiny Desk Concert series — named after Boilen’s former DC band Tiny Desk Unit — in 2008. By inviting artists to perform a handful of songs at Boilen’s desk, the program offered a much more intimate look at rising musicians than typical concerts, or even in-studio radio performances. Over the years, performing at Boilen’s desk has become a rite-of-passage for musicians of all genres; everyone from Mitski to Mac Miller to, in recent months, GWAR and Cypress Hill have taken a stab at the show.
After 35 years, I am leaving NPR. I’ve had the thrill of creating Tiny Desk Concerts, All Songs Considered, directing All Things Considered for 18 years and so much more. I love the people I’ve worked with, but it’s time to find new challenges. thank you for listening/watching.
— Bob Boilen (@BobBoilen) September 13, 2023
Bob Boilen, after 35 years, will retire from NPR on Oct. 2.
I will have more to say soon — probably even on the All Songs Considered podcast, which I’m taping with Bob on Friday if I can get through it without — but without Bob, there’s no Tiny Desk, no NPR Music.
— Lars Gotrich (@totalvibration) September 13, 2023
