tiny desk concert

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros can't exactly slip into an office building unnoticed: Clad in the same clothes they'd worn at a concert the night before, the LA band's 10 ragtag misfits would have fit in far more seamlessly at, say, Burning Man. Seeming to exist in a blissed-out alternate universe — during the wonderful "Home," singer Jade Castrinos exclaims, "Good morning, everybody!" as the clock behind her reads 2:10 pm — this is a band whose performances beg to be seen as well as heard, not to mention shot through a wide-angle lens. The biggest band to play a Tiny Desk Concert - the 10 members of The Magnetic Zeroes played three songs from their debut album (Up From Below). The set included: - Janglin - Home - 40 Day Daydream

Wilco: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Armed with acoustic guitars, tiny amps, a desktop percussion unit and a ton of grace, Wilco plays three new songs from The Whole Love and an old favorite in a stripped-down but powerful set at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "Dawned On Me" "Whole Love" "Born Alone" "War On War" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

The Avett Brothers Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music

With all due respect to its terrific albums and kinetic, frenetic live shows, if The Avett Brothers could put on a three-song acoustic concert at every workplace in America, the band would be a world-beating colossus. For proof, listen to this performance in the NPR Music offices. Find more at www.npr.org

Iron And Wine: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert:

For those who fell in love with Sam Beam's spare solo work, he plays his new full-band material as a solo performer here. Watch Beam show a fresh side of his new songs at the NPR Music offices, and top them off with his devastating 2004 gem "Naked As We Came." Set List: "Half Moon" "Big Burned Hand" "Tree By The River" "Naked As We Came" You can download the video by subscribing to the All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Concert Podcast at npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

Beirut: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Beirut arrived at the NPR Music offices dusty and exhausted following a weekend at Bonnaroo in Tennessee. But after some much-needed showers, the band brought infectious joy to its short set behind the Tiny Desk. Set List: "East Harlem" "Sante Fe" "Serbian Cocek" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Local Natives: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The LA-based indie-rock band plays buoyant, infectious songs that brim with sunny melodies and three-part vocal harmonies. Local Natives' members bring their euphoric choruses and clattering Afrobeat rhythms to the NPR Music offices for a stirring acoustic set. Set List: "Wide Eyes" "Cards & Quarters" "Airplanes" For more videos, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

Yann Tiersen: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The French singer and multi-instrumentalist just released a new album called Skyline, and it captures his aesthetic perfectly: Its rich, buzzy, liltingly eccentric pop music is constructed from lots of sweet, intricate pieces. Set List: "The Gutter" "Monuments" "Tribulations" "The Trial" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts video podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

The Decemberists: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

When he turned up at the NPR Music offices to perform three songs from 'The King Is Dead,' Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy wasn't expecting to be staring into dozens, if not hundreds, of rapt faces. Set List: "Down By The Water" "Rox In The Box" "June Hymn" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concert podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: Phoenix

The sounds of the group's best-selling 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix are so ubiquitous to viewers of TV commercials that they produce a Pavlovian impulse to purchase portable music players and luxury automobiles. But at this Tiny Desk Concert, instantly recognizable hits such as "1901" and "Lisztomania" were stripped down and reassembled as sweetly shambling acoustic numbers.

Nathan Salsburg: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

With his brilliant debut, Affirmed, Salsburg is likely to become one of those names we all associate with American folk guitar. Here, he showcases his intricate and melodic fingerpicking in two instrumental songs inspired by the stories of racehorses from the Kentucky Derby. Set List: Affirmed" "Eight Belles Dreamt the Devil Was Dead" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

Raphael Saadiq NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Raphael Saadiq was nominated for his 2008 solo album The Way I See It. The album featured an eclectic group of collaborators, such as Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z. For his Tiny Desk Concert, Saadiq brought a remarkable accompanist in guitarist Rob Bacon. The two had just gotten off a plane, but in their impeccably tailored suits and their grand smiles, they looked fresh and played an inspired acoustic performance. As you watch, keep an eye on Saadiq's guitar work: You'll see how his years as a bassist influences many of his licks on his Taylor acoustic. Saadiq played: "Love That Girl" "100 Yard Dash" "Sure Hope You Mean It"

Pedro Soler and Gaspar Claus: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The improvisational music of father and son Pedro Soler and Gaspar Claus functions as a beautiful conversation. Soler plays a delicate flamenco guitar, while Claus turns the cello into an exquisitely expressive voice. The two bring that spirit to their intimate performance in the NPR Music offices. Set List: La Petenera" "La Graneña" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Horse Feathers: Tiny Desk Concert

Sweet-voiced, bearded acoustic guitarists are not a rare commodity in the Pacific Northwest, which has spawned the likes of Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Blind Pilot and countless others, just in the last few years. Horse Feathers' Justin Ringle may be the gentlest beard-wearer of them all, which made him a perfect candidate to appear in our Tiny Desk Concerts series: With a voice that high and soft, the man needs a quiet room. Watch them perform "Working Poor," "Heathen's Kiss" and "Curs in the Weeds." Find more Tiny Desk Concerts at www.npr.org

Hospitality: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

While clearly rooted in acoustic traditions, the folk music of Arborea stands out for its calm beauty and rough edges. The duo incorporates harmonium, electric guitars played with an EBow, and a Ban-Jammer — a hybrid instrument that's part banjo, part mountain dulcimer. Set List: "Song For Obol" "Forewarned" "A Little Time" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Adele: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

In a stripped-down three-song set at the NPR Music offices, the Grammy-winning UK pop star showcases her brilliant voice and seemingly effortless charisma. Watch Adele perform two new songs to go with her ubiquitous hit "Chasing Pavements." Set List: "Someone Like You" "Chasing Pavements" "Rolling In The Deep" For more videos, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

Endangered Blood: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The Brooklyn jazz quartet began by playing benefit concerts for an ill friend, but the band soon realized it had potential for more. Endangered Blood's music draws from post-bop, 20th-century chromaticism and New Orleans funeral marches, showcasing compositions both cerebral and gritty. Set List: "Iris" "Uri Bird" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Arborea: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

K'Naan NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Though his appearance at the NPR Music office qualifies as the first-ever hip-hop Tiny Desk Concert, Somali-born rapper K'naan isn't one to adhere to a single genre. Given that he released a song called "If Rap Gets Jealous" earlier this year, it's no surprise that this show found him infusing his music with the sounds of soul, pop and reggae. With the help of a crack backing band, his three-song set — all drawing from this spring's marvelous Troubadour, proves what we've been saying for months, K'naan has the makings of a global superstar who's as inspiring as his songs are infectious. Setlist: "Fatima," "Wavin' Flag," and "Take a Minute."

Pokey LaFarge: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

LaFarge writes and performs original, sometimes traditional music steeped in American blues, country and Western swing from the days when 78s ruled the record player. Watch him perform a short set at the NPR Music offices, with the help of his band The South City Three. Set List: "La La Blues" "Pack It Up" "Head To Toe" For more videos, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

Tallest Man on Earth NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Swedish native, Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man on Earth, plays a few tracks from his debut album "Shallow Grave."

Bill Callahan: Tiny Desk Concert

It's a high compliment to suggest that these three Bill Callahan songs may well implant themselves in your brain, lay eggs and sprout horrifically disturbing dreams at that point when you're banging on the snooze alarm in a state of anguished early-morning half-sleep. Hear and watch Callahan perform at the NPR Music offices. More at www.npr.org

Thao Nguyen's Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music

Thao Nguyen makes captivating music. Her songs are raw and infectious, her voice has a distinctive swagger, and she's a remarkably nimble guitarist. The singer-songwriter stopped by NPR's offices recently to give an intimate performance at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. Read More: www.npr.org See More Tiny Desk Concerts: www.npr.org

Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile And Stuart Duncan: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The genre-bending cellist Yo-Yo Ma heads a dream team of string players -- Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Stuart Duncan -- who borrow from bluegrass. The quartet, plus singer Aoife O'Donovan perform three songs from their album The Goat Rodeo Sessions at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "Quarter Chicken Dark" "Attaboy" "Here And Heaven" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit NPR.org/tinydeskconcerts.

tUne-yArDs: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

With loop pedals and an irrepressible voice, tUnE-yArDs' Merrill Garbus makes powerful and danceable songs that spring to life before your eyes. Watch Garbus perform three buoyant songs from this year's stunning whokil l. Set List: "You Yes You" "Doorstep" "My Country" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

The Civil Wars: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Watch Joy Williams and John Paul White's swooning chemistry and stirring harmonies at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "Barton Hollow" "Twenty Years" "Poison & Wine" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit NPR.org/tinydeskconcerts

Jakob Dylan: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

There have only been a handful of Tiny Desk Concerts where NPR employees have overflowed our modest office space, stepping away from looming deadlines to hear some music. Jakob Dylan and his touring companions, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan and Paul Rigby, joined those ranks when they stopped by to perform a mesmerizing, stripped-down set of songs from his latest record, Women and Country.

Steve Earle: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Steve Earle has lived through the sort of horrors that have launched a million country songs: addiction, affliction, heartbreak, even prison. He wears them in his voice, but what's most appealing about him is the wide-eyed, unmistakable fearlessness with which he goes about his life these days. The singer, author, actor and activist showcases many of his talents at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "Waitin' On The Sky" "Every Part Of Me" "This City" For more videos, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: The Mynabirds

Laura Burhenn says she'd long imagined a band that sounded like Neil Young playing Motown. A veteran of the pop group Georgie James, she formed The Mynabirds to capture a grittier and more soulful sound. Burhenn recently brought The Mynabirds to the NPR Music offices to perform songs from What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood.

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: Sharon Van Etten

The music and voice of singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten are engineered to turn each listener into a weepy, vulnerable heap. In this lovely performance at the NPR Music offices, Van Etten plays a beguiling set of songs from her latest album, Epic. Set List: "Peace Signs" "Save Yourself" "One Day" "For You" For more, visit NPR.org/tinydeskconcerts

Givers: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Givers' music is a clatter of percussion, bright tropical melodies, slinky guitar upstrokes and playful vocals that float over polyrhythmic grooves. At the NPR Music offices, the band plays a sunny, exuberant set, suitable for dancing and bobbing along. Set List: "Meantime" "Up Up Up" "Atlantic" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Damien Jurado: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Jurado has spent the last decade churning out albums of raw, time-worn, authentically graceful music, and he's always possessed a seemingly innate gift for capturing the intricacies of human behavior. Watch him perform his songs in the NPR Music office. Set List: "Cloudy Shoes" "Newspaper Gown" "Arkansas" "Beacon Hill" For more, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: Nick Lowe

Few musicians get better with age. Nick Lowe is an exception: At 61, Lowe is part crooner, part country and a little crotchety, but with a heart of pure pop. Watch the veteran singer-songwriter perform a four-song set in the NPR Music offices. Set List: "Man That I've Become" "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" "All Men Are Liars" "House For Sale" For more videos, visit NPR.org/tinydeskconcerts

Vic Chestnutt's Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music

When Athens, Ga., songwriter Vic Chesnutt was on tour in support of his album, "North Star Deserter," he stopped by NPR to perform live at All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's desk. Chesnutt played five songs, including two entirely new ones. Read More: www.npr.org See More Tiny Desk Concerts: www.npr.org

Bill Frisell: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The brilliant and nimble guitarist reinvents the songs of John Lennon at the NPR Music offices. Set List: Nowhere Man" "In My Life" "Strawberry Fields Forever" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Booker T. Jones: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Jones' name is synonymous with the Hammond B3 organ. At 17, he recorded the instrument's anthem, "Green Onions," with his band Booker T and The MG's. Watch him play the song all alone in the NPR Music offices -- and with such joy, you'd swear he just discovered it. Set List: "Green Onions" "Born Under A Bad Sign" "Down In Memphis" For more videos, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts You can download the video by subscribing to the All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Concert Podcast at npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

Rodrigo y Gabriela NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

I can't think of a better way to describe the music of Rodrigo y Gabriela than with three words: "heavy metal flamenco." And yet the duo doesn't play heavy metal — its members perform instrumentals on nylon-string guitars — nor does it play Spanish dance music. But the term fits because the pair's fierce guitar riffs feel powerfully electric, and because Rodrigo y Gabriela's rhythmic style showcases a frenetic strum that conjures the energy of flamenco. The duo have just released a new album titled, 11:11, which pays tribute to the pair's heroes — Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Astor Piazzolla and Pantera's Dimebag Darrell. They recently performed a few tracks for the NPR Music Tiny Desk series including "Hanuman" and "Buster Voodoo."

Jason Vieaux Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music

The classical guitarist has a huge appetite for diverse music, and plays with a clear, lyrical technique. His diverse set at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen mixes the baroque, Argentine dance, West African rhythms and a classic from Spain. Find more information at www.npr.org

Foster The People: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Armed with the summer song of 2011, the band brings "Pumped Up Kicks" and more to NPR Music. Set List: "Houdini" "Helena Beat" "Pumped Up Kicks" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Chris Bathgate: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Dusky and deliberate, Chris Bathgate's music can be foreboding, even funereal. But the Michigan native invests his songs with warm, rustic beauty, which makes everything too pretty to function as a true downer. Set List: "Everything (Overture)" "No Silver" "Salt Year" "Levee" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Dr. Dog's Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music

Dr. Dog isn't an obvious choice for one of NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts. For one thing, it's a pretty big group, at least for the small space behind Bob Boilen's desk. The band's music can be pretty chaotic — loud and rumbling, with multiple instruments fighting to be heard. And singer Toby Leaman likes to belt out his vocals in a window-rattling, raspy growl. Read More: www.npr.org See More Tiny Desk Concerts: www.npr.org

Lisa Hannigan: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Exuding both musical and personal warmth, the Irish singer mesmerized at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "Knots" "Little Bird" "Passenger" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy: Tiny Desk Concert

A lot of talented artists pass by Bob Boilen's desk. But this was the first time that NPR Music was serenaded by a trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba and truncated drum kit playing a Rufus Wainwright cover (and several clever originals) in rich, soulful polyphony. More at www.npr.org

Anna Calvi: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The slow build that takes place in just three short songs performed at the NPR Music offices -- from a guitar instrumental to the final primal cry of "Jezebel" -- is nothing short of astonishing. Calvi plays three songs from her self-titled debut in this powerful performance at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "River To The Sea" "Surrender" "Jezebel" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: Eef Barzelay of Clem Snide

Eef Barzelay may be the most underrated songwriter in the business today, with a sneakily firm grasp on poignancy and humor, and his live performances convey a kind of awkwardly fidgety fearlessness. Here, he mixes old and new in a charming four-song set at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "With Nothing Much To Show Of It" "Something Beautiful" "We Are Flowers" "Denver" More Tiny Desk Concerts at NPR.org/tinydeskconcerts

Gaby Moreno: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Moreno's breathtaking voice is passionate and stylistically malleable, as she glides back and forth easily between bossa nova and bluesy rock. Moreno sings three songs from her newest album, Illustrated Songs, at the NPR Music offices. Set List: "No Regrets" "Ave Que Emigra" "Sing Me Life" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

Dave Dondero's Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music

He should be a name everyone knows by now. Instead, troubadour David Dondero returned to NPR having slept the night before in his car. Dondero travels from club to club, singing his well-crafted songs — songs that have his signature lyrics at their core. His lyrics can make you smile with their wit and hurt with their bite, all at the same time. Watch Dondero perform his well-crafted songs at Bob Boilen's desk in the NPR Music offices. Read More: www.npr.org See More Tiny Desk Concerts: www.npr.org

Buke and Gass - Tiny Desk Concert, 2010-12-05

Buke and Gass consists of Arone Dyer (buke and voice) and Aron Sanchez (drums and gass). As far as the name lingo, the buke is "a self-modified six string baritone ukelele" and the gass is "a guitar-bass hybrid." They both handle all sorts of foot percussion also. Buke and Gass take great care of their sound, both in the delivery of their performance and tone of their unusual homemade instrumentation.

Fanfarlo NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

After playing a pair of songs from Reservoir, the band closed with a cover of Low's 1999 song "Just Like Christmas." Fanfarlo's members had practiced it all the way from Baltimore to DC, not exactly a trek across continents, but the result was, well, perfect.

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: Esperanza Spalding

The bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding conceived of Chamber Music Society as an intimate experience, a close musical exchange between a small group of friends. If it was intimacy she wanted, she got her wish: Performing three songs in the constraints of Bob Boilen's workspace ensures that all of her supporting players were nice and cozy. Set List: "Little Fly" "Midnight Sun" "Apple Blossom" For more go to NPR.org/tinydeskconcerts

Josh Ritter: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Josh Ritter carries himself with the bearing of a folk-singing mayor: gregarious, charming, down-to-earth and impeccably dressed. But there's not an ounce of insincerity about him, or else he'd have found a way to sing the apocalyptic ballad "The Temptation of Adam" without letting all those wry smiles slip through. Watch Ritter perform a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices. Set List: The Temptation Of Adam Lark Rattling Locks Kathleen For more videos visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

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