Abby O'Neill: From Tiny Desk to Summit Series—Curating Cultural Impact Through Music and Innovation

I followed my childhood passion for music—hip-hop, funk, soul, reggae, rock and electronic music, specifically. Music has always been my salvation and my happy place, and I was determined to build a life around it. I suspect it traces back to seeing Michael Jackson’s Victory (Thriller) Tour in 1984 at RFK when I was six years old. It was transformative, and music became the foundation of both my personal and professional life.

From attending Emerson College for music production to interning at Rawkus Records and Dublab, music and dance have always been essential ingredients. In hindsight, I realize that I’ve always been a curator of music, even before I had the language for it. From making mixtapes on cassettes to A&Ring EA Sports video games, working in music supervision for film and TV, curating and booking Tiny Desk Concerts and producing and programming festivals - the thread has always been the same—music curation is part of who I am.

Looking back, I can see how obsessed I was with controlling the stereo, no matter whose house or car I was in. I turned my white middle class parents onto Go-Go music. I brought artists like Anderson .Paak and Tobe Nwigwe to NPR’s audiences. Connecting people with new music they love is my passion. Producing Tiny Desk Concerts allowed me to do that three times a week for almost 8 years.

It’s incredible to travel the world and witness the global impact of Tiny Desk firsthand. I worked on roughly 100 Tiny Desk concerts including Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Sting, Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu. Oh, and one of my favorites…Shaolin’s finest, Wu-Tang Clan. 

Great question. Navigating the male-dominated entertainment industry has brought unique challenges, particularly innuendo, discomfort and inappropriate behavior in professional settings. While many of these interactions were not blatant enough to call out directly, they created an undercurrent of discomfort and a need for heightened awareness in how I navigated certain spaces. It’s a reality that many if not all women face, where professionalism can be undermined by these dynamics.

However, rather than let these challenges define my experience, I’ve used them as an opportunity to sharpen my instincts and set clear boundaries. Through these moments, I’ve learned to develop a strong sense of self-advocacy and self protection and worked to ensure that I’ve been respected for my knowledge and commitment to hip hop, music and artists. It’s led to a level of resilience that has made me more determined to excel and innovate.

I’ve also found that bringing more women and diverse voices into the room can help shift the culture. We’ve been able to elevate the quality of our work and, in turn, our impact on the industry. This is where I see the real opportunity for growth—turning those obstacles into lessons that reshape the industry itself for future generations.

Music discovery for me happens on Spotify, IG, word of mouth, or when I’m traveling. I just got back from Costa Rica on the Caribbean side and was exposed to so much new reggae music like Pressure Busspipe and The Midnite. One of my ongoing life goals is to explore 2-5 new countries a year. Each new trip provides cultural discovery and introduces me to tons of new artists. And not just up-and-comers, but also under-the-radar established acts within that region. Great music is everywhere and I love to connect to it and share it!

Music is a universal language that transcends boundaries. Growing up, I was drawn to the stories, artists and sounds often overlooked by mainstream media. This ignited my passion for curating voices and genres that challenge the status quo, offering an alternative to commercial music that dominated the airwaves. I’ve always felt this way. Though I wasn’t a DJ, I had the mindset of a crate-digger—constantly uncovering hidden gems in the obscure music I encountered or sought out.

The exponential growth in viewership at NPR Music is a testament to the entire producing team's dedication and passion for music. I was fortunate to play a pivotal role in this growth by focusing on curating a credible lineup of hip-hop, R&B, reggae and soul artists. When I joined, Tiny Desk was primarily known to white audiences and featured genres like Americana, folk and indie. There was a noticeable gap when it came to diverse representation across genres like hip-hop and R&B. 

At Summit, I carry the same approach. My commitment to elevating underrepresented and diverse voices is intentional. I aim to create inclusive spaces for specific audiences that reveal something happening in the cultural landscape.

Rock the Park DC makes me smile just thinking of what we’ve created. My partner Adrian Loving and I teamed up with Downtown DC to bring joy to the DC community during the pandemic, using the city’s largest green space to produce free concerts. Music and dance are essential to joy and healing, so we set out to unite DC’s music and dance lovers with DJs who have influenced us across soulful house, funk, soul, hip-hop, R&B—everything uptempo and feel-good!

Over the past four years, we've produced nine Rock the Park concerts in DC, and it’s been one of the most rewarding endeavors and projects I've ever created and worked on. DC is home, and being able to curate music we love in a beautifully renovated park surrounded by skyscrapers while bringing in the DJs who influenced and inspired us has been utterly amazing. We’ve featured legends like Moodymann, Jazzy Jeff, Rich Medina, Spinna, Kenny Dope, Stretch Armstrong, Miguel Migs, J.Rocc, Clark Kent, Joe Claussell, and more.

Last year, I was honored to serve as talent producer for the new Muhammad Ali docu-series, working alongside his wife, Lonnie Ali. It was a dream to collaborate with such a stellar team to highlight Muhammad’s profound impact beyond the ring—through his humanitarianism and activism. Bringing in icons like Will Smith, Bryan Stevenson, Regina King, Mike Tyson, Black Thought, Common, and more to share how Ali influenced their lives was truly inspiring. 

Summit has done a remarkable job producing and programming killer events for the last 10+ years featuring heavyweights across every major discipline and industry. My hope is to introduce the Summit community to new diverse talent that’s exciting and relevant. 

During April 2024’s Summit at Sea, a 4-day immersive event on Richard Branson’s ship, I brought Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird to speak about peak performance. I’m so proud I brought the King, Charles King, CEO of MACRO, and his wife and brand officer, Stacey Walker-King. They spoke about leadership in Hollywood and crafting film and television centered around underrepresented voices. 

I brought Moodymann, Detroit house music legend, D.Nice, who blessed us with a set, and was also in conversation with dream hampton for a riveting conversation about using art as a medium for social advocacy and justice. Also, I curated a conversation between legends, Fab 5 Freddy with Just Blaze and Diplo. And I produced a dope comedy / storytelling hour with Rich Medina, Stretch Armstrong, and Just Blaze. For Summit Baja in Mexico, I’m excited to introduce the Summit community to Mumu Fresh, a brilliant singer, songwriter, emcee, who is joining us to facilitate a sound healing workshop. Also, very excited to introduce the Summit community to Devi Brown – a gifted meditation and wellness educator who is providing a workshop on emotional resilience. The beauty of Summit is you can literally choose your own adventure and mix and match across disciplines and industries.

I feel like I have a memorable moment for every artist or musician I’ve worked with or for every production, show, series, festival, event that I’ve contributed to. So many moments. Among the 3 you just mentioned, my memorable moment with Chappelle was surprising the NPR newsroom with his presence when I brought Dave in for a Tiny Desk. We literally sauntered through the newsroom while Dave screamed out NPR correspondent and host names while crackin jokes with the executives who sat around a table on what he thought was a phone bank pledge call. Dave is a diehard NPR fan so he of course knew all the right names. The look of sheer joy on the faces of the newsroom was pure delight. We even busted into a live taping of All Things Considered with Ari Shapiro and Mary Louise Kelly. 

Stevie – wow! Stevie Wonder. Somehow through divine intervention, I managed to bring Stevie to NPR for the very first time in NPR’s 50 year history. I booked him with the help of two friends of mine, Adrian Miller and DJ Spinna, as a guest for the podcast I created and executive produced, What’s Good with Stretch & Bobbito, and OMG, I think all of us were brought to tears that day. Stevie was sitting next to his piano sharing one beautiful heartfelt story after the other about his creative process, his career, his heart. It was just glorious and I remember the feeling of elation me, Bobbito and Stretch had. Just wow.

My favorite Tiny Desk memory was producing our first Tiny Desk out of the office - this time in the Obama White House with Common and Robert Glasper. The energy and excitement that day was palpable.

What I’m thinking about right now is how do brand partnerships evolve with AI? For example, should brands have AI agents representing them on social media? If so, how? 

My philosophy about any strategic collaboration is that it has to align for all parties and must feel holistic. The best partnerships are when each stakeholder has something to gain. I’m very proud of the brand and sponsorship work I did at NPR. I spent years cultivating brand manager relationships and helping build products that served both NPR and their strategic partners. 

What inspires me right now is getting to curate and program transformative experiences. Hope we see you in Baja!