Hawai‘i polychromatic ukulele virtuoso, Taimane continued her rapid ascent when she released her Tiny Desk Concert on YouTube March 13, 2020. She is the first artist from Hawai‘i to headline Tiny Desk, recently dubbed “one of music’s biggest stages” by Billboard with 7.5 million monthly viewers, over 2 billion YouTube views to date and frequent appearances by superstars including Taylor Swift, Sting with Shaggy, Lizzo, Jonas Brothers, Megan Thee Stallion, Damian Marley, and Sheryl Crow in 2019 alone.
Taimane’s early 2020 success comes on the heels of a breakout 2019 during which she nearly tripled her social following (now with over 300,000 followers worldwide) and watched a video of her mashup of “Carmen and The Phantom of the Opera” garner over 10 million views. Taimane is poised to enjoy an even greater rise in popularity in 2020 thanks to her upcoming Tiny Desk release, followed by her return to SXSW in mid-March, a PBS broadcast this spring of Taimane’s 2019 sold-out Berkeley concert, Taimane performances at Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary mega-festival this June (part of Taimane’s summer tour of Europe / North America) and a 20-date tour of Europe this fall backed by live entertainment powerhouse, DEAG (frequent presenter of superstars including The Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran, etc.).
“It was truly an honor to play Tiny Desk,” shares Taimane. “I’ve been watching for years and have been introduced to so many great artists through it. Standing and playing at Bob’s desk was an absolute rush and inspiration, crazy how far my ukulele has taken me. Judging by the smile on Bob’s face, I think my band, dancer and I did Hawaii proud. Can’t wait for everyone to see the video!”
ON STAGE AT TINY DESK
Taimane – ukulele, vocals
Ramiro Marziani – classical guitar
Jonathan Heraux – percussion
Melissa Baethoven – violin, background vocals
Liʻo – Polynesian dance
About Taimane: Songwriter and virtuoso, Taimane, is best known for her fierce and inventive style of playing the ukulele. Hailing from a musical Samoan family including her late mother, Palepa Tauiliili Gardner (Miss Samoa 1978), Taimane’s attraction to the four-string island staple began at age 3, and by age 10, she regularly performed in public, busking in Waikiki every Friday night with her father holding down security duties and Waikiki Beach Boys (adults whose home & workplace was the beach) serving as her band. By age 13, Taimane landed a position in Don Ho’s show literally playing in the spotlight every week until Ho’s passing. Fast forward to today, and you have an artist who tours the world and has carved out a unique niche in music – merging a wide-array of genres, from Bach to rock, flamenco infernos to tribal hymns, summoning a seemingly limitless palette of emotions via an instrument previously viewed as restricted.
