Artists who play the Tiny Desk aren't always sure what they're getting into. "I wasn't expecting it to be in a big building," girl in red's Marie Ulven tells the NPR crowd. "I thought I was going to go into a little house or something."

Any confusion aside, Ulven and her band deliver a set suitable for the kind of cozy space she imagined, one of genuine charm, good humor and unbridled joy — a vibe that girl in red has always cultivated through music. She can find cause for celebration even in life's bleakest moments, like when Ulven and the band deploy rapid-fire handclaps during a song about the emptiness of unrequited love ("Phantom Pain") or the way she says "Depression!" with a smile and a cheerleader's fist in the air just before "Summer Depression." "It's a normal thing to feel like this," she sings, offering a much-needed dose of warmth and empathy on what was an otherwise chilly, overcast day in Washington, D.C.

SET LIST

• "Phantom Pain"

• "Summer Depression"

• "Too Much"

• "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" 

MUSICIANS

• Marie Ulven: vocals, guitar

• Martin Dybal: guitar, music director

• Henrik Bakken: bass

• Bror Brorson: guitar

• Erlend Hisdal: drums

• Viljar Dunđerović: keys, piano

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Robin Hilton

• Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant

• Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault

• Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter

• Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Zayrha Rodriguez

• Audio Engineer: Josh Newell

• Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer

• Photographer: Sofia Seidel

• Tiny Desk Team: Lars Gotrich, Maia Stern

• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

• Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson

• VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

Copyright 2025, NPR