paul mccartney tour 2023 date

Rock And Roll Garage

Paul mccartney announce 2023 tour dates.

Classic Rock

The legendary Beatles bassist and singer Paul McCartney announced new 2023 tour dates. The shows will happen next October, November and December in Australia and Brazil. It will be the first time he plays in those countries after the Pandemic. Named “Got Back”, the tour has 12 scheduled dates so far and he will perform in Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Brasília, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba.

“I’ve got some good news. We’re coming back to Brazil in November to play for you. We have such great memories from all our visits. I love coming to Brazil because you guys like to rock, sing and party all at once. We’re really excited. Let’s have fun. Let’s rock. Let’s roll. Let’s stomp. Let’s stroll. And Brazil, let’s have a great time,” Paul McCartney said in his last statement.

His band continues the same with Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums).

Paul McCartney 2023 tour dates

• 18 – Adelaide – Entertainment Centre
• 21 – Melbourne – Marvel Stadium
• 24 – Newcastle – McDonald Jones Stadium
• 27 – Sydney – Allianz Stadium
• ⁠28 – Sydney – Allianz Stadium
• 1 – Brisbane – Suncorp Stadium
• 4 – Gold Coast – Heritage Bank Stadium
• 30 – Brasília – Mané Garrincha stadium
• 3 – Belo Horizonte – MRV Arena
• 9 – São Paulo – Allianz Parque
• 13 – Curitiba – Couto Pereira stadium
• 16 – Rio de Janeiro – Maracanã stadium

“Paul has a strong relationship with Brazil – and a huge number of fans from the most diverse generations. In 2017, he was recognized as the best-selling international artist for performances in the country, with more than 1,5 million tickets sold.”

“But the great milestone of the eternal Beatle happened in 1990, when he performed in front of a crowded – and enchanted – Maracanã with 184,000 fans on the night of April 21, breaking at the time the world record for attendance at a concert. In 2023, McCartney will close the tour in December precisely by returning to “his sacred soil”, in the most iconic Brazilian soccer stadium. Magical place for sports lovers, like the artist,” the official statement recalled.

I'm a Brazilian journalist who always loved Classic Rock and Heavy Metal music. That passion inspired me to create Rock and Roll Garage over 6 years ago. Music has always been a part of my life, helping me through tough times and being a support to celebrate the good ones. When I became a journalist, I knew I wanted to write about my passions. After graduating in journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, I pursued a postgraduate degree in digital communication at the same institution. The studies and experience in the field helped me improve the website and always bring the best of classic rock to the world! MTB: 0021377/MG

Concerts, TV & radio shows

Discover the live legacy: explore Paul McCartney's tours and concerts.

Photo: Paul McCartney performs live on stage with Wings, Fort Worth, Texas on May 3rd, 1976 - RICHARD E. AARON/REDFERNS/GETTY - From Rolling Stone

• Tours & concerts
• By the numbers
• Allen Ginsberg (1)
• Billy Joel (1)
• Bruce Springsteen (1)
• Dr. Pepper's Jaded Hearts Club Band (1)
• James McCartney (1)
• John Tavener (1)
• Neil Young (1)
• Paul McCartney (238)
• Paul McCartney & Wings (1)
• Rod Stewart (1)
• Steven Van Zandt (1)
• The Beatles (108)
• The Nerk Twins (2)
• The Quarrymen (7)
• Various Artists (30)
• Concert (176)
• Radio show (16)
• TV Show (86)
• Appearance (13)
• Classical concert (3)
• Rehearsal (8)
• Tours (104)
• 1 - 50 of 406

Corona Capital

Nov 17, 2024 • Mexico • Mexico City • Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Impromptu jam with Andrew Watt and Chad Smith

Aug 20, 2024 • USA • New York, Amagansett • Stephen Talkhouse

Got Back Tour

Shows: 22 • Countries: 11

Liverpool Oratorio

Shows: 4 • Countries: 1

Keep The Party Going: A Tribute To Jimmy Buffett

Apr 11, 2024 • USA • Los Angeles • Hollywood Bowl

Shows: 19 • Countries: 4

Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert

Sep 03, 2022 • United Kingdom • London • Wembley Stadium

Glastonbury Festival

Jun 25, 2022 • United Kingdom • Pilton, Somerset • Worthy Farm

Live In Frome

Jun 24, 2022 • United Kingdom • Frome • Cheese & Grain

Shows: 16 • Countries: 1

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame - 2021 Induction

Oct 30, 2021 • USA • Cleveland • Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

Stella McCartney's 50th anniversary birthday party

Sep 18, 2021 • United Kingdom • Cliveden House Hotel, Buckinghamshire

Dec 17, 2020 • United Kingdom • Rye • Hog Hill Studio • TV show

The Howard Stern Show

Dec 15, 2020 • United Kingdom • London • Radio show

John Lennon At 80

Oct 04, 2020 • United Kingdom • Radio show

'Round Midnight Preserves

Jun 20, 2020 •

One World: Together At Home

Apr 18, 2020 • United Kingdom • Rye • Hog Hill Studio

Private event

Nov 23, 2019 • USA • Jersey City • Hudson House

Freshen Up Tour

Shows: 21 • Countries: 5

Austin City Limits Music Festival

Oct 12, 2018 • USA • Austin • Zilker Park

Private party for Robert Kraft

Oct 09, 2018 • USA • Foxborough • Gillette Stadium

Oct 05, 2018 • USA • Austin • Zilker Park

Shows: 17 • Countries: 7

Secret New York Concert

Sep 07, 2018 • USA • New York • Grand Central Terminal

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Sep 06, 2018 • USA • New York • NBC Studios • TV show

Secret gig at The Cavern Club

Jul 26, 2018 • United Kingdom • Liverpool • The Cavern Club

Paul McCartney in Casual Conversation from LIPA

Jul 25, 2018 • United Kingdom • Liverpool • Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts

"Under The Staircase" Spotify show

Jul 23, 2018 • United Kingdom • London • Abbey Road Studios

Carpool Karaoke

Jun 21, 2018 • United Kingdom • Liverpool • TV show

Secret gig at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms

Jun 09, 2018 • United Kingdom • Liverpool • Philharmonic Dining Rooms

Stella McCartney's Autumn Winter 2018 presentation

Jan 16, 2018 • USA • Los Angeles • SIR Studios

London • The Roundhouse • United Kingdom

Nov 04, 2017 • United Kingdom • London • The Roundhouse

One On One Tour

Shows: 42 • Countries: 6

Private New Year's Eve party

Dec 31, 2016 • France • Saint-Barthelemy • Saint-Barthelemy

Dec 20, 2016 • USA • New York City • NBC Studios • TV show

Desert Trip (2nd night)

Oct 15, 2016 • USA • Indio • Empire Polo Club

At Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace

Oct 13, 2016 • USA • Pioneertown • Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace

Desert Trip

Oct 08, 2016 • USA • Indio • Empire Polo Club

Dine and Disco for Children in Need

Jun 25, 2016 • United Kingdom • Chiddingford • Mulberry Inn

Summer Festivals 2016

Shows: 2 • Countries: 2

BBC Radio 4 Mastertapes

May 28, 2016 • United Kingdom • London • BBC Maida Vale Studios • Radio show

Shows: 35 • Countries: 9

Saturday Night Live - Season 41 - Episode 9

Dec 19, 2015 • USA • New York City • NBC Studios • TV show

2015 ATA Management Conference & Exhibition (private show)

Oct 19, 2015 • USA • Philadelphia • Pennsylvania Convention Center

PETA's 35th Anniversary Party

Sep 30, 2015 • USA • Hollywood • Hollywood Palladium

Summer festivals 2015

Shows: 4 • Countries: 2

Robin Hood Benefit

May 12, 2015 • USA • New York City • Jacob Javits Center

Private graduation party

May 09, 2015 • USA • Winter Park • Interlachen Country Club

Out There Tour

Shows: 26 • Countries: 9

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2015 Induction Ceremony

Apr 18, 2015 • USA • Cleveland • Cleveland's Public Hall

Paul McCartney Verified

Concerts and tour dates, latest posts.

Paul McCartney merch

Live Photos of Paul McCartney

Fan Reviews

Fans Also Follow

About paul mccartney.

• Most popular artists worldwide
• Trending artists worldwide

• Tourbox for artists

Search for events or artists

• Sign up Log in

• Get the app
• Moscow concerts
• Change location
• Popular Artists
• Live streams
• Popular artists

Paul McCartney tour dates 2024

Paul McCartney is currently touring across 5 countries and has 13 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, after that they'll be at Allianz Parque again in São Paulo.

Currently touring across

Upcoming concerts (13) See nearest concert

Allianz Parque

Estádio Aderbal Ramos da Silva

Estadio BBVA

Festival Corona Capital

PARIS LA DEFENSE ARENA

WiZink Center

Past concerts

Hollywood Bowl

Estádio Couto Pereira

View all past concerts

Recent tour reviews

I don't need to say how amazing this man is and how happy I am to have attended this show. On "Live and let die" there was even pyrotechnics and fireworks. Paul was telling us stories, singing and joking, I think he switched more than 5 guitars during the show and the evening was just overall beautiful.

The venue was terrible, though.. There was no warning about not bringing the bags and we had to pay 15 Euros to leave the bag before getting in - backpacks were not allowed at all (so they basically forced us to give this money as it was too late to go back to hotel and leave it there). Also the security check was useless.. We were drinking in line to warm up and forgot about empty bottle in the pocket.. Guess what? We were able to bring a GLASS BOTTLE through security check, cause we didn't remember and they never checked.. What if I was a psycho? It's glass after all.

Report as inappropriate

BEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE!! I can say Even one of the most incredible moments of my life. I know what it means being able to see the legend Sir Paul McCartney live and he fullfill all my expectations and way more! His band is absolutely amazing!

But let me tell you the highlight of my year:

I could only afford the cheapest level tickets but I was more than ok with that since i was going to see my idol, then on my way to our seats with my 2 girlfriends, an angel waiting at the top of the stairs ask us to see our tickets and then offer to change them, we were surprised and maybe thinking it was a scam but then she pulled her envelope with 3 FIRST ROW TICKETS!! Best seat in the arena, she identify herself as part of Sir Paul team, and after many thank yous and hugs we went to see the biggest concert.

Thats why he is the absolutely GREATEST rock star of this planet! Beacuse he truly cares about his audiences, i will never in my wildest dreams tought i was going to see able to be on the first row, besides the wonderful drama of the situation his performance was perfect, spotless, he is full of energy and will be forever grateful to him for such an amazing night.

Sir Paul McCartney concert in Munchen was fabulous (Fab four, Fab one :)). The Olympiastadion was full of happy delighted people who were lucky enough to get a ticket. There were Beatles fans along with Wings and Macca fans from many different countries, young and not so young people, all cheerfully singing the everlasting songs and dancing to our beloved music that defined the lives of many of us. The show went on for full 2 hours and 40 minutes, almost 40 songs from all periods, from late 50's to nowadays hits.

For me, it was a once in a lifetime event. I grew up with Beatles and Paul McCartney music, and I have been waiting for a long time for this. It's been a long time since I bought my first Beatles record, even long time since I bought my last one (not to mention I have all Beatles records plus many of their solo albums :)), and the possibility to see one of my heroes live in concert, it was just a dream come true.

It was worth every single penny spent on concert ticket, air ticket, airport transfers, accomodation for couple of days, and of course whole lotta german beer :)

Long live Sir Paul, long live Beatles, forever live their eternal music!

• Most popular charts
• Campaigns for promoters
• API information
• Brand guidelines
• Community guidelines
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Cookies settings
• Cookies policy

Get your tour dates seen everywhere.

Cancel membership

By cancelling your membership, you will no longer have access to tour announcements, presale tickets, special offers and competitions from the whole Frontier Touring family, including Chugg Entertainment, Illusive Presents & more.

Are you sure you want to cancel your membership?

Membership Cancelled

Sign up again at anytime, including during a presale.

Paul McCartney Got Back 2023

Paul McCartney is bringing his phenomenal Got Back  Tour to Australia in 2023! These will be his first Australian dates since his award-winning 2017 tour.

Also touring

Presented by

We use cookies to improve and personalise your visit.

Watch Paul McCartney join Andrew Watt and Chad Smith to play The Beatles and Neil Young at intimate Hamptons show

Performing ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’

Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance at an intimate show by producer Andrew Watt and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. Watch footage of that moment below.

• READ MORE: ‘Let It Be’ review: The Beatles dust off their spellbinding 1970 break-up doc

On Tuesday night (August 20), Watt and Smith held a gig at the 250-pax venue Stephen Talkhouse at the Hamptons, an affluent seaside area in New York.

McCartney took to the stage midway through their set – which saw Watt and Smith accompanied by guitarist G.E. Smith and a horn section – where he performed covers of The Beatles ’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and Neil Young ’s ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’.

During the cover of the latter song, McCartney was joined on vocals by Watt’s model girlfriend Charlotte Lawrence, per SPIN .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maggie Noguéz (@rhcp_maely)

Recommended

In a profile by The New York Times last December, Watt revealed that he ended up writing an as-yet-released song with McCartney during what was planned as a casual meeting. “Suddenly, we had a song,” Watt said. “From a cup of tea to a song. Doesn’t it sound easy?”

Before that rendezvous, McCartney guested on ‘Hackney Diamonds’, the 2023 album by The Rolling Stones that was produced by Watt.

This October, McCartney will begin his latest trek of South America, along with three dates in Mexico the next month.

Tickets to Paul McCartney’s South American shows are now on sale and can be purchased via his official website .

Prior to the tour, McCartney’s former band Wings will appear in a new documentary via archive footage from 1974 in a new documentary titled One Hand Clapping , titled after the Wings live album of the same name. The film will premiere worldwide at selected cinemas on September 26.

• Related Topics
• Andrew Watt
• Paul McCartney
• Red Hot Chili Peppers

You May Also Like

You gotta roll with it: the rocky road to oasis’ supersonic return, mj lenderman on resisting the hype: “there’s a danger in believing your own myth”, ‘only murders in the building’ season four review: as enjoyably silly as ever, nieve ella just wants to have fun, ‘black myth: wukong’ review: a mind-bogglingly beautiful action adventure, more stories, oasis partner with twickets for reunion tour, watch snail mail celebrate oasis’ reunion with gnarly cover of ‘supersonic’ in nyc’s central park, manic street preachers set to release new single ‘decline & fall’ later this week, here’s bonehead looking back on time in oasis – and the first first oasis cover, nick cave explains origins of new bad seeds ‘wild god’ album title and shares alternative names, the breeders’ kim deal announces debut solo album ‘nobody loves you more’ with eccentric new single ‘crystal breath’.

Sir Paul McCartney

• Sat 14 Dec Manchester, Co-op Live Arena Sir Paul McCartney Sold out
• Sun 15 Dec Manchester, Co-op Live Arena Sir Paul McCartney Sold out
• Wed 18 Dec London, The O2 Sir Paul McCartney Sold out
• Thu 19 Dec London, The O2 Sir Paul McCartney Sold out

When Taylor Swift came to the office: How the Tiny Desk Concert became pop’s biggest stage

T he handful of stages that almost all musicians hope to grace one day is a small and exclusive club. New venues open regularly, but most of them are vibeless arenas paid for by the sale of their naming rights, or else gimmicky visual experiences. To the biggest acts, they probably look like any old stop on the road.

And so the top tier remains set. In pop and rock, New York’s Madison Square Gardens and Glastonbury Festival’s Pyramid Stage seem obvious, long-standing members. So too the versatile and still striking Sydney Opera House. In the worlds of classical and jazz, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall surely merit mention.

New names are seldom added, but that makes the most recent addition to that must-play list all the more noteworthy: the gap behind Bob Boilen’s old desk in an office building in Washington DC. The capacity is a few dozen, depending on whether the photocopiers can be moved. The lighting is of the industrial strip variety. The acoustics are surprisingly good. As for the performance space? Well, that’s tiny.

As everybody from Taylor Swift and Adele to Chaka Khan and Yo-Yo Ma could attest, over the past 16 years, NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series has metamorphosed from cult online muso content to a fully-fledged cultural phenomenon, in doing so becoming one of the most in-demand stages for artists of any size.

To those somehow unfamiliar, the set-up is mercifully brief to explain. A few times a week, a solo musician or band will visit the headquarters of NPR (National Public Radio) in the US capital to perform a lunchtime gig on the office floor. The backdrop is a now instantly recognisable, kaleidoscopic wall of bric-a-brac, and for 20-minutes or so the act holds court, vulnerable and engaged, in an environment unlike any other they normally play.

The results, swiftly posted on YouTube, are outstanding. We get to watch the likes of Swift, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and Justin Bieber charm an audience less than a hundredth the size of their other tour crowds. We can revel in the squeaks, ums, pauses and bum notes of the world’s virtuosos, rendered nervous by such a stripped-back setting.

We hear the sheer power of voices and the subtleties of others; witness multi-instrumentalists forced to choose one; see superstar bands huddled in closer proximity than they have in years; and admire rappers dispossessed of their braggadocio.

And thanks to curators who make a glorious art of eclecticism, a random binge of Tiny Desks could see you enjoy concerts from the UK rapper Dave, followed by US artpop sensation Chappell Roan , followed by Cuban piano legend Chucho Valdés, followed by the main players from Sesame Street (Big Bird sounds incredible live), followed by Bono and The Edge, finished with Fred Again. The most popular gigs have been watched in excess of 100 million times.

“I’ll tell you the story of how it all came to be, because it’s important to get that right,” says Bob Boilen, 71, from his home in Washington DC. In 2008, several NPR staff attended the South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas. Boilen, a musician and broadcaster who by that point was already an NPR veteran and host of the long-running music show All Things Considered, was keen to hear some artists in intimate settings.

“It’s an amazing music festival, but everything becomes a music venue, from the big stages to bars to dog shampoo parlours. We went to see [US singer-songwriter] Laura Gibson in a bar, and in that bar there was a basketball game on TV, everyone was screaming at the TV… It just wasn’t the place you’d see a nice quiet singer from Portland, Oregon and expect to hear her. As much as I love SXSW, that’s the kind of thing you sometimes deal with.”

Despite attempts to shush the patrons and glare at the sound booth, they could still barely pick out Gibson’s voice or playing, so when she came off stage, a colleague of Boilen’s, Stephen Thompson, jokingly said to her: “We couldn’t really hear you, you need to come and play in our office.” It really was a joke, but a lightbulb in Boilen’s brain lit up. They soon set a date with Gibson to do just that.

“Happy Monday morning,” Gibson says to the smattering of “curious” NPR workers who gathered for that first Tiny Desk. Boilen had cleared his belongings, given Gibson his chair, and, save for a microphone and camera, that was about it. After the first song, he and Thompson told the SXSW story and explained why the “mini-concert” was happening.

“So, we’re gonna video tape this for our blog,” Boilen says, “and maybe it’s the start of something, maybe it’s not, but we’re certainly glad to have Laura Gibson here today.” Polite applause follows.

“We really didn’t know [it would be], we just wanted to do something crazy,” Boilen says today. “And the reaction to it was amazing, and it was just wonderful to hear a performance like that, in an office with no fancy lights or anything, just the focus on the musician and what they were doing. Because TV producers always want a spectacle of some sort.”

It’s safe to say it was the start of something. More artists were booked, initially infrequently but by the turn of 2009, a “Tiny Desk”, as it was instantly labelled, was happening weekly. These days, Boilen says, “they’re doing three or four a week.”

Many of the first tranche of names are the kinds of artists who were perhaps used to occasional unplugged gigs in cafés and bookshops, but the first big star who may have felt thrown by the situation was Sir Tom Jones, the 13th Tiny Desk, in March 2009.

“That was a hoot. He’d just done a record of interesting music that was outside of his box, more leaning towards what an independent rock musician might do, so we thought that might be cool. He came with just a guitarist, and his son was his manager,” Boilen recalls.

“His son would come between songs and mop his father’s brow. Because Tom was nervous! This was not a Vegas stage. My intern was sitting three feet from him. It was amazing to hear that voice, unamplified, in a little room.”

Sir Tom was, Boilen says, “a bit mystified by [the concept] but totally game, totally into it, and he enjoyed it. He made really interesting arrangements. The thing about doing these, with almost every single artist who comes in, is that you have to work on this beforehand. Unless you’re just a singer-songwriter with a guitar, you can’t play a club that night and then do the same sort of arrangements.”

One of the only stipulations imposed on artists is that their vocals won’t be amplified. There are technical reasons for this, and the NPR sound engineers are often the first people complimented in the videos’ comments, but it also forces acts to “play at a level that’s much different from how they normally do”.

Success built steadily, but if there was a turning point, it came in 2014, in the unlikely shape of Floridian R&B singer and rapper T-Pain. At the time, T-Pain’s success had been built almost exclusively on his popularising of Autotune pitch correction. In fact, his clear refusal to sing in an unadorned voice had reached the point of derision and parody – he became depressed after Usher told him he had “killed music”.

The booking was not Boilen’s – his taste was a little more rock and folk – but that of a colleague, Frannie Kelley. “We said to him, ‘You can’t process your voice here. You have to sing in the room.’ And he was game,” Boilen says.

At the start of the concert, T-Pain is visibly nerve-wracked and feels as if he has nothing to lose. Bespectacled and sitting beside a single electric piano player, he then  proves to the world he can sing beautifully, with a rich, velvety R&B voice as good as any of his sneering peers. Legend has it that T-Pain mistakenly thought he was at NPR for an interview, and had no idea his performance to employees was going to appear on the internet.

That video went viral – it has been viewed 28 million times – at a time when music performances didn’t. “Because nobody had heard him that way, and because the genre was much different from what we’d been covering, it really took off and opened up our audience,” Boilen says.

T-Pain not only promoted Tiny Desk to a far wider audience, he also started a trend for artists turning to this stage for what has been described as “an authenticity baptism”. Its predecessors, MTV’s Unplugged and Radio 1’s Live Lounge were either earnest or playful, usually in the extreme.

Tiny Desk could be either, but it gained a particular reputation for allowing artists to remind the world they really are talented, really can sing, and really do write great songs, they don’t just rely on DJs, backing tracks and pyrotechnics. (Occasionally that nakedness has the opposite effect, revealing how thin some songs are.)

NPR will edit almost nothing out, Boilen says, including mistakes – unless an artist “really really objects to something that happened, in which case we’ll do a retake, but that’s rare.” Performing behind the desk and not amplifying the vocals are about the only non-negotiables. Artists, and their managers, took to it.

“I’d get easily 50 to 100 requests to do Tiny Desks every week,” says Boilen, who retired from NPR last year. As well as accepting offers, he’d look at who’s coming to Washington DC and ask artists if they’d like to drop in, as well as taking suggestions from staff.

“The one rule I had with my staff was that they could bring any artist idea to us, but you had to be passionate about them. They couldn’t just be popular, or interesting. You had to be really, really into them.”

The balance between new acts who the team have discovered and wish to share, and world-famous artists who they’ve always wanted to see on Tiny Desk, is a fine one. “The nice thing about balancing it out is people come for those popular artists and then stumble upon others, and that has made a huge difference to hundreds and hundreds of artists who’ve played the desk. And that’s amazing.

“It’s a great spot for discovery. But some people really don’t need to be discovered. You’d get some people who just want to do it, because it’s so different, and out of the box, and so memorable for them. Taylor Swift doesn’t need to do a Tiny Desk concert, but she really wanted to. It’s a challenge, but artists want a challenge.”

Boilen managed to book many of his favourite artists, but singles out Yusuf/Cat Stevens, especially the song Father and Son. He grew up listening to that song, and then brought his own son to the Tiny Desk. “I got pretty teary-eyed on that one, I’ve got to say.”

There’ve now been well over 1,200 Tiny Desks, and everybody’s favourites are different. As a format, it somehow lends itself just as well to hip hop acts – The Roots, Noname, Run the Jewels and Anderson Park are among the best – as it does soul singers and folk artists, who we perhaps expect to excel.

Others are a time-capsule. One of the most popular Tiny Desks is one of the earliest – the 2012 performance by The Cranberries, just as the band had reunited. In some ways, it is the ideal way of hearing Dolores O’Riordan’s extraordinary, distinctive voice, full as it was with rasps and yodels and keening beauty.

“Thanks, lads,” O’Riordan says after Linger. “Any requests?” she asks, later on. Boilen can be heard asking for Zombie . Moments after, O’Riordan’s lost in the song, playing it largely facing her bandmates and smiling with them.

The comment sections underneath music videos on YouTube are the last lovely place on the internet, and Tiny Desk’s have even more humanity and poetry than most. “Her voice sounds like a smile after an unexpected compliment,” appears under Lianne La Havas’s effort. Since O’Riordan’s death in 2018, The Cranberries’ own mini-concert, which has almost as many views as Taylor Swift’s, has become a makeshift tribute wall.

An afternoon lost in Tiny Desks is never wasted, and several new concerts now appear each week. It has come so far from cult that Saturday Night Live parodied it in a sketch earlier last year. In it, the band – led by Ramy Youssef’s irritating troubadour, who’s revelling in the stripped-back nature of it all – receives a noise complaint from an NPR employee just trying to work. “I loved that tribute, especially their attention to detail in the set design,” Boilen says. “Being made fun of was an honour.”

He’s now passed the Tiny Desk torch on. “I feel really proud and fortunate to have done it, to have been allowed to have an impact to be able to do work I feel needs to be seen and heard by a larger audience.” 

Instead, it’s something he can enjoy as a fan. “But not all the time. My tastes are different from a lot of what’s coming on the scene, and part of leaving was that it needed a newer generation of people picking the music, not some old dude. But they’re doing an amazing job and it’ll only continue to grow, I’m sure.”

Boilen booked hundreds of acts himself, and saw many of his heroes play where his laptop normally rested. But some still eluded him. “I had what I call my ‘great white whales’ – Neil Young, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, people I grew up on that I would have loved to have had play the desk. Obviously, I asked them and that didn’t happen, but none of them said ‘no’ flat out....”

There are a few other notable acts who’ve never played it. Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Rihanna are yet to appear. So are Madonna and the Rolling Stones. But you get the sense they will eventually.

After all, most of them have played the Pyramid Stage, Madison Square Gardens and all the rest. It’s only a matter of time before they’ll want to complete the set. Boilen laughs, but not out of incredulity. “Yeah, you know, that’s absolutely true.”

Sign up to the Front Page newsletter for free: Your essential guide to the day's agenda from The Telegraph - direct to your inbox seven days a week.

NEW DATES ADDED: Paul announces Brazil dates for the 'Got Back' tour

NEW DATE ADDED: ⁠ Paul will play a second show in Belo Horizonte, on December 4th, at MRV Arena.

After phenomenal demand, Paul has added a second date in Belo Horizonte to the GOT BACK tour.

The sale to the general public starts on October 10th at 12pm BRT . There is no pre-sale for this show.

Visit the Got Back 2023 tour page for more information and ticket links .

TOUR DATES: ⁠Thursday 30 November - Brasília - Mané Garrincha Stadium ⁠⁠Sunday 3 December - Belo Horizonte - MRV Arena ⁠NEW SHOW: Monday 4 December - Belo Horizonte - Mrv Arena Thursday 7 December- São Paulo - Allianz Parque Saturday 9 December - São Paulo - Allianz Parque ⁠Sunday 10 December - São Paulo - Allianz Parque ⁠Wednesday 13 December - Curitiba - Estádio Couto Pereira Saturday 16 December - Rio De Janeiro - Maracanã Stadium

“ I’ve got some good news.  We’re coming back to Brazil in November to play for you. We have such great memories from all our visits.  I love coming to Brazil because you guys like to rock, sing and party all at once. We’re really excited. Let's have fun. Let's rock. Let's roll. Let's stomp. Let's stroll. And Brazil, let's have a great time .” - Paul McCartney

Fulfilling his promise to return to the stage – to the delight of fans – Paul returns to Brazil in 2023 for shows in five cities – São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba. Bringing his phenomenal  GOT BACK Tour to the country for the first time.  The tour started in the United States in April 2022 and saw Paul perform a historic headline festival set at Glastonbury.

Paul has a strong relationship with Brazil – and a huge number of fans from the most diverse generations. In 2017, he was recognized as the best-selling international artist for performances in the country, with more than 1,5 million tickets sold.

But the great milestone of the eternal Beatle happened in 1990, when he performed in front of a crowded – and enchanted – Maracanã with 184,000 fans on the night of April 21, breaking at the time the world record for attendance at a concert. In 2023, McCartney will close the tour in December precisely by returning to “his sacred soil”, in the most iconic Brazilian soccer stadium. Magical place for sports lovers, like the artist.

Featuring Paul’s longtime band - Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums) - and constantly upgraded state of the art audio and video technology that ensures an unforgettable experience from every seat in the house, a Paul McCartney concert is never anything short of life-changing.

Related Articles

NEW DATE ADDED: Paul announces Australian dates for the 'Got Back' tour

You Gave Me the Answer - Got Back Special

You Gave Me The Answer - Life on the ‘GOT BACK’ Tour