Turnstile has made a tiny yet remarkable milestone in their rise as one of the defining hardcore bands of their generation. The Baltimore outfit became the first band to ever stage dive on NPR’s famed Tiny Desk series, breaking the format’s usual intimacy with the same kind of chaos they bring to bigger stages in festivals and stadiums.
The group, consisting of vocalist Brendan Yates, bassist Franz Lyons, drummer Daniel Fang, and guitarists Pat McCrory and Meg Mills, returned to the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. for their second Tiny Desk performance. Their first Tiny Desk appearance came in 2022, when the pandemic forced them to film a “home edition” surrounded by stuffed animals and plush toys in place of a live audience by performing songs from their 2021 album Glow On, such as “BLACKOUT,” “MYSTERY,” “UNDERWATER BOI,” to name a few.
This time, Turnstile had a real crowd, and Yates made full use of it. During their closing number, the breakneck single “Birds,” he launched into the audience, marking the first time the Tiny Desk stage has ever been turned into a pit.
The performance capped a busy stretch for Turnstile, who released their latest album NEVER ENOUGH in June. They marked their release with a free hometown show in Baltimore and remain in high demand hardcore bands worldwide, having brought their high-energy live shows across Southeast Asia with stops in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand back in 2018 and 2024, respectively.
