Weird Al Returns to NPRs Tiny Desk 16 Years After Last Visit, This Time with a Full Band

As he approaches the latest leg of his “BIGGER & WEIRDER Tour,” the great “Weird Al” Yankovic returned to a venue he hasn’t played in over a decade and a half: NPR’s Tiny Desk. The parodist last played a TDC in 2010, bringing his classic band in an acoustic formation for a three-song set. This time, however, he shoved his full, plugged in band into the office space and played a mix of parodies, pastiches, and originals.

For the takeoffs, he brought out his online shopping ode “eBay” (Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”) and the classic Star Wars – Episode 1 recap “The Saga Beings” (Don McLean’s “American Pie”). Deep cut Weezer-esque “Skipper Dan” from 2011’s Alpocalypseopened the four-song performance, and the Emmy-nominated “Now You Know” recounted the hard, 100% completely true facts of the 2022 biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

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But the true highlight just might be someonebehind Yankovic. Keep your eyes on guitarist Payton Rose Velligan on the left side of your screen, seemingly the youngest member of the band and someone who is clearly thrilled to be playing for a legend like “Weird Al.” (A quick look into her bio reveals she’s also a 5th gup in Korean martial art Tang Soo Do and got her start in a RUSH tribute band, so she’s probably the coolest person ever.)

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Watch “Weird Al’s” Tiny Desk Concert below, and then catch him on tour at the dates below by getting tickets via Vivid Seats, where fans can save $20 on their first order of $200 or more with promo code CONSEQUENCE20at checkout.

Yankovic may be big enough to turn down offers “if it makes me feel icky” (such as rejecting $1 million to perform at last year’s Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia and “a nice pile of money” for an AI software ad), but he’s still getting even bigger (and weirder) in 2026. He’s bringing his 1989 movie UHF to the big screen for a live orchestra performance in LA, releasing the movie’s score soundtrack for the first time ever, and working on a Broadway jukebox musical calledDare to Be Stupid.

“Weird Al” Yankovic 2026 Tour Dates:
08/28 – St. Paul, MN @ Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Concert Series[Buy Tickets]
08/29 – Grand Forks, ND @ Alerus Center[Buy Tickets]
08/30 – Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre[Buy Tickets]
09/01 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place[Buy Tickets]
09/02 – Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place[Buy Tickets]
09/03 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Fair Summer Night Concerts – Freedom Mobile Arch[Buy Tickets]
09/05 – Puyallup, WA @ Columbia Bank Concert Series at the Washington State Fair[Buy Tickets]
09/06 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater[Buy Tickets]
09/07 – Salem, OR @ Columbia Bank Concert Series at the Oregon State Fair[Buy Tickets]
09/09 – Central Point, OR @ Bi-Mart Amphitheater[Buy Tickets]
09/11 – Lincoln, CA @ The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino Resort[Buy Tickets]
09/12 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center[Buy Tickets]
09/13 – Palm Desert, CA @ Acrisure Arena[Buy Tickets]
09/15 – Paso Robles, CA @ Viña Robles Amphitheatre[Buy Tickets]
09/16 – San Diego, CA @ The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park[Buy Tickets]
09/18 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena[Buy Tickets]
09/19 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center[Buy Tickets]
09/20 – Tucson, AZ @ Tucson Arena[Buy Tickets]
09/22 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center[Buy Tickets]
09/23 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Raising Cane’s River Center Arena[Buy Tickets]
09/25 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena[Buy Tickets]
09/26 – Southaven, MS @ Landers Center[Buy Tickets]
09/27 – Knoxville, TN @ Food City Center[Buy Tickets]
09/29 – Auburn, AL @ The Gogue Center[Buy Tickets]
09/30 – Tallahassee, FL @ Donald L. Tucker Civic Center[Buy Tickets]
10/02 – Birmingham, AL @ Coca-Cola Amphitheater[Buy Tickets]
10/03 – Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf Amphitheater[Buy Tickets]
10/04 – Brandon, MS @ Brandon Amphitheater[Buy Tickets]
10/06 – Chattanooga, TN @ Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium[Buy Tickets]
10/07 – Salem, VA @ Salem Civic Center[Buy Tickets]
10/08 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena[Buy Tickets]
10/10 – Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center[Buy Tickets]
10/11 – University Park, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center[Buy Tickets]
10/13 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center Arena[Buy Tickets]
10/15 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum[Buy Tickets]
10/16 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center[Buy Tickets]
10/17 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum[Buy Tickets]
10/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theater [Buy Tickets] (UHF Live-to-Screen with Orchestra and Live Q&A)