Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble: Tiny Desk Concert

Why It Matters

The concert spotlights Detroit’s musical renaissance, giving a national platform to locally rooted artists and signaling fresh market opportunities for genre‑blending talent.

Key Takeaways

• Pan‑Detroit Ensemble showcases Detroit’s indigenous musical heritage at Tiny Desk.
• Don Was hosts, highlighting collaborative jazz‑fusion performances with local artists.
• Original tracks “You Asked, I Came” and “Midnight Marauders” debut.
• Ensemble blends funk, soul, hip‑hop, and spoken‑word storytelling.
• Performance underscores Detroit’s resurgence as a creative cultural hub.

Summary

The Tiny Desk concert featured Don Was hosting the Pan‑Detroit Ensemble, a collective dedicated to amplifying Detroit’s indigenous sounds. Recorded for NPR Music, the set highlighted the city’s rich musical lineage and the ensemble’s mission to preserve and evolve it.

The group performed original compositions such as “You Asked, I Came” and “Midnight Marauders,” weaving together jazz‑fusion, funk, soul, and hip‑hop. Musicians including saxophonist Dave McMurray, guitarist Wayne Gerard, drummer Jeff Kennedy, trumpeter John Douglas, vocalists Hersha and Terrina Boone, and keyboardist Luis Resto contributed to a layered, improvisational soundscape.

Lyrics drifted between vivid imagery—“mosquitoes on the river,” “rainbow full of sound”—and spoken‑word interludes that referenced local folklore and personal narratives. The performance also featured a brief Hank Williams cover, underscoring the ensemble’s genre‑bending approach.

By broadcasting this eclectic showcase, NPR provides national exposure to Detroit’s emerging talent, reinforcing the city’s resurgence as a creative hub and signaling to industry stakeholders the commercial potential of home‑grown, culturally rooted music.

Original Description

Felix Contreras | May 15, 2026

Is it possible to be ubiquitous and behind-the-scenes at the same time? That pretty much sums up Don Was and his long career in the music business.

After co-leading the funky pop-rock band Was (Not Was) in the 1980s, Was went on to win an armful of Grammy awards as a producer. He's worked with Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Elton John, Ringo Starr and Bob Weir, to name just a few. Since 2012, he has been president of the legendary Blue Note Records.

Was is also a son of Detroit. In recent years, he put together a band under his own name for the first time: Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble. "We are on a mission to promulgate the indigenous sounds of our hometown of Detroit, Michigan," he explains.

This is a tight and powerful group, with an emphasis on the groove, but all eyes and ears are on lead vocalist Steffanie Christi'an. In this Tiny Desk performance, she breathes a very different kind of fire into the Grateful Dead classic "The Music Never Stopped" and smolders on re-working of Hank Williams' "I Ain't Got Nothing But Time." The entire set is a perfect example of how, as the Dead used to say, "the music plays the band."

SET LIST

"The Music Never Stopped"

"You Asked, I Came"

"Midnight Marauders"

"I Ain't Got Nothin' But Time"

"Insane"

MUSICIANS

Don Was: bass

Steffanie Christi'an: vocals

Wayne Gerard Milton: guitar

Luis Resto: keys

Dave McMurray: tenor sax

Vincent Chandler: trombone

John Douglas: trumpet

Jeff Canady: drums

Mahindi Masai: percussion

Herschel Boone: background vocals

Terena Boone: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Felix Contreras

Director/Editor: Maia Stern

Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell

Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter

Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene

Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna

Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer

Photographer: Vanessa Castillo

Series Editor: Lars Gotrich

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Executive Director: Sonali Mehta

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#donwas #nprmusic #tinydesk

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