Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives: Tiny Desk Concert

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Suraya Mohamed | May 6, 2024
When Marty Stuart arrived, his cheerful smile and charismatic personality beamed. He had a charming swagger and it was immediately clear we were in the presence of a country and bluegrass music legend.

When Stuart was just 12 years old, he went on the road for the first time with a Pentecostal gospel bluegrass group called the Sullivan Family Gospel Singers. Almost 55 years later, he’s still performing and is a five-time Grammy winner, Country Music Hall of Famer and AMA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Those accolades only hint at the artistry of Mary Stuart and his longtime band The Fabulous Superlatives. Looking around the room during his Tiny Desk performance, people in the audience were visibly captivated by this undeniable demonstration of musical excellence — beautiful harmonies, precise rhythmic precision and perfectly blended arrangements all sewn together with a casual flair that was simple and fun.

Recorded just a few days before Easter, the set ends appropriately in the spirit of the church. “When we first put our band together, the way we learned to sing together was singing gospel songs,” said Stuart. “I was in love with the Staple Singers as always, Mavis and Pops and Cleotha and Pervis, and they are all like family and so bluegrass music all figured in. So we finally got around to writing a few songs for ourselves and here’s one we got to do called ‘Heaven.’ ”

SET LIST
"Tempted"
"Streamline"
"Tomahawk"
"Heaven"

MUSICIANS
Marty Stuart: vocals, guitar, mandolin
Kenny Vaughan: guitar, vocals
Chris Scruggs: bass, vocals
Harry Stinson: drums, vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Alanté Serene
Audio Engineer: Kwesi Lee
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Estefania Mitre
Tiny Desk Team: Maia Stern, Hazel Cills
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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