Amaia Performs with a Chair Flute in New Tiny Desk Concert: Watch

Spanish singer and multi-instrumentalist Amaia stopped by the NPR office to perform her first-ever Tiny Desk Concert, complete with a jaw-dropping solo played on a chair flute. Yes, that’s a flute made from a plastic folding chair.

Amaia provided renditions of six songs for her Tiny Desk set: “C’est La Vie,” “Nanai,” “Zorongo,” “Auxiliar,” “Giratutto,” and “Yamaguchi.” She busted out the chair flute in between “C’est La Vie” and “Nanai,” performing a dazzling intro and continuing to play it during the latter song. For much of the set, however, Amaia remained seated at the piano, providing crystal-clear vocals and imbuing palpable emotion into her songs. Watch the set below.

Amaia released her third album, Si Abro los Ojos No Es Real, in 2025. She has a few international dates to come in her native Spain this year. Will she bring out the chair flute for those shows? We sure hope so. Get tickets here.