Season 2018 2018

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The indie rap denizen behind one of 2017's most inventive albums came to the nation's capital to represent all the Brick Body Kids who Still Daydream.

The LA band's signature sound is intimate and demonstrative, haunting yet uplifting, an old-fashioned rock beat under glimmering guitar and keys. And at the Tiny Desk, it was at ease.

One of the joys of listening to The Weather station is the tension and release in the group's enchanting music. It's what made the band's most recent album one of Bob Boilen's favorite of 2017.

Julien Baker's Turn Out The Lights brought her much-deserved critical acclaim and wider attention in 2017. Before its release we asked her to make a rare return to the Tiny Desk for something special.

Watch the young Russian musician, who The Times of London calls “the most astounding pianist of our age,” play a smart, Chopin-focused concert on a grand piano, precisely wedged behind the Tiny Desk.

More than a dozen artists gather behind the Tiny Desk to celebrate Memphis soul in a joyful, triumphant performance.

The Ontario-based singer has a gruff but sweet voice with openly honest words behind soulful tunes of hope.

Brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario seem like they beamed into the Tiny Desk from the year 1971, untouched by the 21st century.

The Malian musicians, who've been playing together for nearly 40 years, bring some of the most lyrical melodies and joyful sounds we've ever had at the Tiny Desk.

The singer performed at the Tiny Desk without a warmup or soundcheck, with just her acoustic guitar and un-amplified voice, letting the wordplay in her songs shine through.

George Clinton brought his family, both immediate and extended, to the Tiny Desk for a set of classic cosmic slop.

Eavesdrop on a beautiful recital of German songs from fin de siècle Vienna, when music was transitioning from the swells of romanticism to the uncharted waters of modernism.

In three songs celebrating black ancestry and self-love, Woods demonstrated just how adept she is at creating songs rich with philosophical meaning that also move and groove.

The beloved singer-songwriter premiered three new songs while turning NPR's headquarters into a Harlem speakeasy.

This under-the-radar singer from the Dominican Republic is starting to turn some heads. You'll see why in this Tiny Desk performance.

The music of Hurray For The Riff Raff builds bridges, unites people and forms communities. It's a spirit singer Alynda Segarra and the rest of the band bring to this memorable Tiny Desk performance.

Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz never fail to mesmerize. Watch the twin sisters perform a four-song set at the Tiny Desk.

The Crossrhodes showed up to the Tiny Desk with game faces on, bringing with it a locally cultivated, globally appreciated energy.

Marlon Williams has a heart-stopping voice, is in love with a good, traditional blues or country tune, and writes songs about vampires and horror films.

The music of Nick Hakim occupies a space and time that feels out of this world, with songs that explore the quietude of inner thoughts.

The Afro-Venezuelan collective brings the boisterous parranda sound to the Tiny Desk.

One of the greatest to ever bless the mic treated the Tiny Desk audience to an office block party.

August Greene, Common's new trio with Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins, brought some special guest vocalists to the Tiny Desk.

Laetitia Tamko, the artist known as Vagabon, is a 25-year-old, Cameroon-born musician with a big, tenor voice just bursting with new musical ideas.

The Nashville star brought some good old country music stories to the Tiny Desk.

Watch the 77-year-old jazz-funk icon perform “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” (and more) at the Tiny Desk.

Out of nearly 700 performances at the Tiny Desk over the past decade, this one by British composer Anna Meredith is one of the most exhilarating.

The Mississippi rapper paid homage to his grandmother and performed songs from his new album 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time.

Clare's songs ask listeners to probe their own emotions through the lens of life’s bigger pictures. His visit to Bob Boilen’s desk is the perfect setting to bask in the power of his voice.

Each year we get thousands of submissions for our annual Tiny Desk contest. Seattle's Kuinka was one of last year's entrants. While they didn't win, we loved them so much we invited them to come play.

For more than 45 years, the legendary John Prine has written some of the most powerful lyrics in the American music canon. He brings some of his best to this unforgettable Tiny Desk performance.

Raul Midón brought nothing but a guitar and his voice to an extended Tiny Desk set of dense, breathtaking jazz and soul textures.

Cornelius' Keigo Oyamada deconstructs and reassembles music like it's a neon cubist-pop sculpture. On a rare U.S. tour, the Japanese band brought its complex cool to the Tiny Desk.

The Swedish trio brought a 30-string sonic blast to the Tiny Desk, performing on 12-string guitar, viola and the nyckelharpa (a fiddle with keys — think 15th century keytar).

Sometimes frenetic, sometimes slow and luxurious, the grooves the band creates are the perfect cushion for Jenny Ball's impassioned singing and engaging stage presence.

Aoife O'Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins are bound by a love for bluegrass, chamber music, jazz, storytelling and singing.

The Juice Crew legend brought his biggest hit, “Born To Roll,” and a heartfelt recollection of his personal journey to the Tiny Desk.

Hear the elusive avant-garde pianist debut a new piece, etched in shimmering chords and dark, lamenting octaves.

Bridgewater connects with her roots, her birthplace and the town she's loved all her life, with a set of songs from Memphis.

The guitarist and singer for The Black Keys and The Arcs brings his Easy Eye Sound Revue to the Tiny Desk, recalling a time and sound from the '60s when southern R&B, including Nashville, was a force.

See the band perform a rare evening Tiny Desk concert, illuminated by flickering lights

Flamenco, jazz and classical share the stage in this Tiny Desk from one of our favorite Spanish composers.

Tyler Childers writes songs about hard lives and hard love with direct heart and a soulful Kentucky drawl.

The Uruguayan singer-songwriter is one of the finest lyricists operating today. Watch his stunning performance behind the Tiny Desk.

The Breeders' dreamy scuzz sounds wiser and more frazzled at the Tiny Desk, featuring the same lineup behind the band's breakout, 1993 album Last Splash.

The veteran Brooklyn rapper was an underground star during hip-hop's golden era. At the Tiny Desk, O.C. made it clear that he hasn't lost his edge.

When you hear John Moreland's sweet voice, it's hard to believe he spent years singing in punk, metal-core and hardcore bands. He plays acoustic guitar now, but his songs are still full of passion.

Hear a triumphant fusion of jazz, rock and blues that moves with momentum and fresh anticipation. Logan Richardson plays with a lyrical intensity that is both focused and free.

The multinational band of theatrically fun and talented musicians in Superorganism mix melody and mischievous with almost Seussian folly.

ÌFÉ isn't playing anything new. In fact, the band takes on something quite old: ritual Afro-Caribbean music that takes a lifetime to absorb and master.

Bedouine is Azniv Korkejian, a singer and guitarist who echoes sounds from the 1960's North American folk songwriters, but with vocal inflections closer to Leonard Cohen than to Joni Mitchell.

Most rap fans would name RZA as the head of the Wu-Tang Clan. But Wu purists know that GZA, or The Genius, is the crew's unspoken elder statesman.

Even if the world came to an end, there's still beauty and hope in all of us and in song. That about sums up the wistful mystery that is the music of Darlingside.

In three songs from Reservoir, Gordi keeps her voice both unadorned and centered within warm, cool arrangements that include piano, guitar, pedal steel, a harmonium named Barbara, and more.

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn are two American musical treasures. This husband-and-wife banjo duo write original tunes steeped in the roots of folk music.

The winner of this year's Tiny Desk Contest makes his official debut behind the desk.

This trio from Houston, Texas makes trance-inducing music heavily inspired by 1960s and '70s funk and soul from, of all places, Thailand.

The dream of the '90s is alive in this Canadian rock band.

Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk and the cast of the Tony-nominated play The Band's Visit marked the first Broadway performance at the Tiny Desk.

The Colombian pop star and Chilean rising star brought their duet tour to the Tiny Desk.

The Los Angeles rapper and Kendrick Lamar collaborator performed four songs from her excellent album, Heirloom.

Watch the Chicago-based ensemble conjure otherworldly sounds from steel pipes, tuned cowbells and a bowl that sings.

We squeezed 12 go-go musicians behind the Tiny Desk. Watch what ensued.

This 22-year-old Brit has soul for days.

Watch the R&B star-in-the-making perform three songs, including a guest appearance by H.E.R.

The 14-year-old singer who signed to Columbia after winning America's Got Talent, dazzles the Tiny Desk with her breathtaking voice.

The one-woman riot who made headlines during the inaugural Women's March On Washington visits the Tiny Desk.

Watch the rising U.K. star perform intimate renditions of "Blue Lights," "On My Mind" and "Teenage Fantasy" with a full band.

The D.C. rapper brought quite the crew to his Tiny Desk performance.

Come for one of Havana's most talented acts. Stay for García's incredible mohawk.

Watch the 20-year-old star perform acoustic versions of "Location," "Saved" and "Young Dumb & Broke."

The bassist and drummer from D.C.'s pioneering punk band Fugazi join guitarist Anthony Pirog for a set of thrilling, sometimes loud and frenetic instrumentals.

A handful of teenagers, and a 12-year-old violinist, from the radio show From the Top, give sparkling performances, proving there's a bright future for classical music.

Watch the New York rap icon perform "Paid In Full" and "Know The Ledge," as well as a new song for Marvel's Luke Cage, at the Tiny Desk.

The star sheds his band for a warm, winning, utterly game, happily overstuffed five-song performance of songs from across his long career.

Join the "Children of the Sun" - or sit back and enjoy the spectacle - in this Tiny Desk experience.

New Orleans' native son brought his musical Gumbo — and a 10-piece orchestra — to the Tiny Desk for some well-seasoned soul and a lesson in creative freedom.

Yonnet is a magician on the harmonica. You'll see why he's performed with Stevie Wonder, Prince and Ed Sheeran.

Rev. Sekou and the Seal Breakers gave one of the most rousing Tiny Desks we've ever had, opening with one question: "Do you want to get free?"

Occasionally a new voice emerges so rich in experience that the only way to describe it is old soul.

A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad and composer Adrian Younge brought their Luke Cage-inspired collaboration to the Tiny Desk.

The Icelandic composer is joined by two "ghost" pianists, making mysterious and memorable music at the Tiny Desk.

The storied vocal ensemble brings close harmony singing to a diverse set list that includes a Beatles tune and a bawdy madrigal from the 1500s.

The veteran singer showcases her soaring powerfully expressive voice in a performance that bridges several generations of classic soul.

The precise serrations of Washington, D.C. band Flasher get softened for a visit to the Tiny Desk — their vocals, normally side-by-side rushing electric instruments, get the center stage treatment.

Del McCoury has been performing, and updating, his take on bluegrass for some 60 years. At the Tiny Desk, he brought three traveling songs and some good yarns to share from his ample time on the road.

One of our favorite new artists of 2018 visits the Tiny Desk.

Mac Miller reflects on his journey's peaks and valleys in a boisterous set of songs from Swimming, featuring special guest Thundercat on "What's the Use?"

DAWN has a breathless enthusiasm for shape-shifting pop music. She strips three songs to just the essentials, illuminating the impeccable songwriting behind her wild combination of sounds.

Even from its beginnings in late-'60s Oakland, the band has always stood out. Fifty years later, its devotion to classic horn-driven soul remains unmatched, its passion and precision unchanged.

The singer's performance at the Tiny Desk was an almost spiritual experience, leaving many at the NPR Music offices in awe.

Watch the 19-time Grammy winner return to his lifelong passion for J.S. Bach, playing music from the Cello Suites and offering advice on the art of incremental learning.

The Australian band uses tiny moments of introspection to illuminate life's bewildering, terrifying, isolating aspects — especially as they apply to women.

Backed for the first time ever by members of the Howard Gospel Choir, the Irish singer-songwriter shows off a voice built to fill stadiums in more ways than one.

In the fifteen years since he released Trap Muzik, Tip Harris has reinvented himself a thousand times over. But the stories he recounts from that era make his Tiny Desk a memorable one.

During a career nearly three decades in the making, Tech N9ne has dodged the fickle rap industry while surfing his own wave, stylistically and professionally. The Kansas City native has been a beast for years now, a musical misfit who laid a track record of underground success and struggle before building his own independent empire with Strange Music.

"This is how we laugh at all the other rappers," Strange Music comrade Krizz Kaliko says, letting out a belly laugh near the end of duo's Tiny Desk set. Kaliko is another K.C. native and kindred spirit of Tech N9ne's. Together, they've carved out an unorthodox niche: chopper-style speed rap that often plumbs dark, emotional depths.

Their playful banter between songs personifies that creative connection, as Krizz delivers backing vocals and guest verses from the soul. Backed by a guitar, drums and bass for their Tiny Desk, the trio brought out the rock-tinged hues of such definitive Tech N9ne songs as "Dysfunctional," "Aw Yeah? (interVENTion)" – dedicated to his mother who died from lupus in 2014 – and "Fragile," originally assisted by Kendrick Lamar, Mayday and Kendall Morgan.

To close the set, Tech and Krizz performed "Speedom (Worldwide Choppers 2)," a song inspired by folk rocker Richie Havens' original classic "Freedom." After years traveling his own path, it's a fitting way to define Tech N9ne's wildly independent approach.

SET LIST
"Dysfunctional"
"Aw Yeah? (interVENTion)"
"Fragile"
"Speedom (Worldwide Choppers 2)"

When George Li, the 23-year-old American pianist, revealed his Tiny Desk setlist, one thought came to mind: How will these powerhouse showstoppers sound on an upright piano? The music he intended to play, by Franz Liszt and Vladimir Horowitz, was designed for a real, 7-foot concert grand piano – the kind they used to call "a symphony orchestra in a box."

Turns out, there was nothing to worry about. Li's technique is so comprehensive, so agile, so solid, that instead of making our trusty Yamaha U1 quake in fear, he made the instrument sound several sizes larger, producing glorious, full-bodied colors and textures.

Li comes by his achievements honestly. He began lessons at age 4, and at 10 gave his first public concert. Five years later, he snagged the silver medal at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Last fall, he released his debut album on a major label and these days he's playing with many of the world's major orchestras while touring the globe. He just graduated from Harvard where he studied English literature and piano, in a hybrid program with the New England Conservatory.

Li is still young, but in some ways he's an old soul. Forget streaming services; he still listens to CDs. And his "idol" is the old-school, swashbuckling virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz, a pianist who died nearly 30 years ago.

To honor Horowitz, Li begins his Tiny Desk recital with the master pianist's electrifying reboot of a theme from Bizet's opera Carmen. Li describes it as an "insane knuckle-buster." Just watch his hands blur during the fiendish interlocking octaves at the explosive climax. Then it's two pieces by the ultimate monster pianist, Franz Liszt. The Consolation No. 3, with its gently flowing, long-lined melody and diaphanous ornaments, reveals the poetic side of the composer, while the rip-roaring La campanella begins with a single tinkling bell that multiplies into a wild cacophony of trills and scales, ending in what Li calls "a big bang."

George

About a year ago, Ten Flowers, the debut album from Kalbells, came out and brought me a great deal of joy. At the Tiny Desk, the solo project morphed into a full-fledged band, where they debuted the tune "Droolerz." That song opens with camaraderie - "I want a house / where everybody comes" – and continues with a line that epitomizes the carefree humor of singer Kalmia Traver: "We could play drums and eat lobster at the opera." The band makes life-affirming music that Kalmia created over the past few years, filled with the triumph of being cancer free. The joie de vivre is palpable.

This isn't the first time Kalmia has performed a Tiny Desk concert. Her other band, Rubblebucket, brought their circus of contagious fun here more than three years ago. But for Kalbells and for Kalmia, Ten Flowers was about healing through expression, exploring uncharted musical landscapes and finding her voice outside of her tight partnership with Rubblebucket's Alex Toth. She used a tiny little synthesizer called the Critter & Guitari Pocket Piano to create random patterns that she improvised lyrics over before tearing it apart and pulling it back together, tightening the melody and lyrics. She then was joined by drummer Ian Chang, and though not in the band that came to NPR, he certainly helped shaped the rhythms of these songs. Her own saxophone playing at the Tiny Desk demonstrates the width of her musical palette adding harshness and deep character to these somewhat airy songs, and her talented minimalist band let her shine.

SET LIST
"Craving Art Droplets"
"123456/Bodyriders"
"Droolerz"

Stop. Watch. Listen! You might be unfamiliar with Congolese rhythms, likely won't understand the language and won't know the vibe of Kinshasa street musicians, but trust me... Jupiter & Okwess are astonishing. Their fierce energy here at the Tiny Desk translates through familiar instruments of drums, bass and guitars in an astonishing performance.

Jupiter Bokondji comes from the troubled capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jupiter and his band Okwess play music that feels both African and American, with Jupiter's early musical tastes inspired by The Jackson 5, James Brown and Kool and the Gang, plus the sounds of Motown. It's music he heard while shuttling back and forth with his family between Tanzania , Dar es Salaam and East Berlin. His father was an attaché at the Congolese embassy there.

Then of course there's Congolese rumba, the popular dance music from as early as the 1940s, not too dissimilar from some Cuban music of the day. And the message of the music has been steeped in the complicated politics of the region, stumbling between chaos, anarchy and oppression.

This is urgent music. Much of it can be heard on their vibrant album Kin Sonic, released in June of this year. It's music that stems from the gut but has thought and theatrics to flesh out the feelings. It's music to be experienced. This is your entry point.

SET LIST
"Ofakombolo"
"Pondjo Pondjo"
"Ekombe"

Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers accomplished something remarkable this year with their Tiny Desk Contest entry. They made a simple backyard video - a single camera shoot - that's now been seen almost 10 million times on YouTube. And the song they played, "Peach Scone," has unlocked a door to a dream - to play a Tiny Desk Concert and be heard. The song is a tale of one-sided love - a tale of kindness in the face of loneliness and depression. Now, "a couple of kids - five I guess" as its lyrics go, get to bring their creative, urgent and somewhat nervous energy from Sacramento, Calif. to play "Peach Scone" and more to millions of other listeners.

This is a band always on the verge of emotional explosions, all while Frank Lopes, aka Hobo Johnson, is quoting Shakespeare and making references to Jay-Z, The Front Bottoms song "Twin Size Mattress" and so much more.

The directness in their music, with its chorus shouts ("Damn I love those sandwiches!") and the little asides ("I got a duvet the other day - how do you wash a blanket? In a washer? That's what I found out") make for a remarkably personal performance. At times it's as much a storytelling session or personal confession than a musical performance, and for me it conjures feelings of empathy and understanding and compassion.

SET LIST
"Romeo & Juliet"
"Sex in the City"
"Peach Scone"
"Creve Coeur 1"

During his setup, GoGo Penguin's pianist Chris Illingworth asked if he could remove our piano cover to "access the inside" and, after a few rotations of a screwdriver, he soon handed me a long plank of black painted maple, which has no convenient place to rest in the NPR Music office. If you look closely at the piano innards during "Bardo," you can see a strip of black tape stretched over a few strings, opposite Illingworth's bobbing head. It mutes a group of strings, turning them into percussive jabs and dividing the instrument into more explicit rhythmic and melodic sections. What you can't see: GoGo Penguin's audio engineer a few feet to the left of frame, dialing-in reverb effects on the piano, which we heard in the room. These two elements, in tandem with bassist Nick Blacka's precise canvasing and drummer Rob Turner's charged and delicate pulse, have heavily contributed to the sonic identity of this trio - a signal to jazz jukebox listeners that, "Ah yes, that's a GoGo Penguin tune."

GoGo Penguin models closely the leaderless jazz power trio set in motion by forbearers in The Bad Plus, but you can also hear the drippings of electronica groups like Bonobo, and drum-and-bass foundations akin to Roni Size with a bit more acoustic rattle (Turner even fashions his own prepared drum accessories from rope, duct tape, and metal rings, which you can see resting atop his ride cymbal and snare. He tells me he usually has more, but he hasn't made new ones in a while).

But dissecting this music belabors what's certain: this trio has become a reference point of their own for new school instrumentalists, a coveted achievement for any jazz group, though their appeal stretches far outside the jazz ecosystem. In fact, in 2018 alone, the band played some of the world's most notable pop festivals like Bonnaroo and Outside Lands and top-tier international jazz festivals: Montreal and North Sea. This trio found a way to wedge themselves in the middle of the Venn diagram that

Brooklyn-bred hip-hop duo Smif-N-Wessun – consisting of partners in rhyme, Steele and Tek – illuminated the Tiny Desk with their signature, 80-proof poetry: straight, no chaser. Their music, inspired by their gritty and pre-gentrified Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville neighborhoods, offers the vocabulary of veterans who survived the grimy streets. These original members of the Duck Down Records group Boot Camp Clik represent quintessential '90s true-school hip-hop from the bedrock, when Timberland boots were standard issue. Backing Steele and Tek for the first time is D.C.'s own Black Alley band.

Smif-N-Wessun set things off with their classic debut single "Bucktown," an ode to their native Brooklyn, which uses their love for lyrical clapbacks as an allegory for overcoming the violence-ridden reality of their wonder years. Their undeniable Gemini chemistry - clearly the byproduct of a 20-plus year friendship - is on full display. Throughout the performance, the two emcees dance, share easy banter and express their spiritual connection to the music they've created over the years.

Things climax when the two perform "Stand Strong," another favorite from their debut album Dah Shinin'. Anchored by the mantra, "I never ran / never will," the tune receives a refreshing update, courtesy of Black Alley. Driven by the live interpolation of their Beatminerz-produced tracks, the music decries the struggles of late-stage capitalism and the plight of the disenfranchised. It's a revelation of love, life, and brotherhood in an era when the antiheroes were really just the ones cunning enough to avoid becoming victims. That survivor's drive is personified when Steele lets his guard down during the performance and gifts the audience a little boogie, while referring to the "holy ghost" that has come over him.

The set concludes with an exclusive premier of their new single, "One Time," from their forthcoming album, The All, produced by 9th Wonder & The Soul Council.

SET

Even in an office in broad daylight, Julie Byrne sings with both a husk and a whisper as if she's gone a long time without speaking - as if she's been alone, as if she's been traveling. Her opening number at the Tiny Desk, "Sleepwalker," sings of the road as a source of freedom.

I lived my life alone before you
And with those that I'd never succeeded to love
And I grew so accustomed to that kind of solitude
I fought you, I did not know how to give it up

Julie Byrne's hypnotic fingerstyle picking conjures a sense of wandering, a style she adapted from her father and a sound she grew up with until multiple sclerosis robbed him of that companionship and comfort. She now plays her dad's guitar.

For me, the mark of a great artist is transformation - the ability to take me far from my everyday thoughts - to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, or at least to see it in a different way. After performing "Sleepwalker" alone, Julie Byrne was joined by her musical companions, Marilu Donovan on harp and Eric Littmann on electronics. Together they conjure an ethereal compliment to Julie's love of the open landscape – I'm transported.

SET LIST
"Sleepwalker"
"Follow My Voice"
"I Live Now as a Singer"

Anthony Roth Costanzo is a feisty performer who knows a thing or two about busting down barriers in classical music. After all, opera singers don't normally belt out arias behind office desks, and they don't insist on lugging harpsichords with them. They also don't routinely sing in Bronx middle school classrooms and get students talking about emotions. But Costanzo is fearless. (And after seeing this amazing Tiny Desk performance, watch him melt the hearts of distracted sixth-graders.)

A word about Costanzo's voice. He is a countertenor, a man who sings in the range of a female alto. The roots of the tradition date way back to the 1500s, when young male singers, called "castrati," were castrated in order to preserve their high, flexible voices.

"I've managed to do it without castration," Costanzo joked to the audience of NPR staffers. These days, countertenors sing in falsetto, and while as recently as 30 years ago it was considered something of an androgynous novelty, now countertenors are part and parcel of the opera world. (We've even hosted a countertenor before at the Tiny Desk.)

Costanzo performs songs from his new album, which pairs music by George Frideric Handel with Philip Glass. Strange bedfellows perhaps, and born more than 250 years apart, but somehow Glass' repetitive, staccato beats and Handel's long, flowing melodies manage to shake hands across the centuries.

One obvious common thread is the arrangements, by Nicholas DeMaison, that Costanzo commissioned expressly for this performance, featuring harpsichordist Bryan Wagorn (playing a beautiful double-manual French-styled instrument built by Thomas and Barbara Wolf), along with flutist Alice Teyssier and bassoonist Rebekah Heller.

Glass' "Liquid Days," begins with a recitative introduction, similar to a Handel aria. But the lyrics, by David Byrne, depict love, in all its quotidian splendor, as a character who "could use a shave" and "watches TV." "Pena tiranna," from Handel's undervalu

Standing behind the Tiny Desk with only pianist Sullivan Fortner by her side, jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant remarked that she hadn't been this nervous in a while. But it was hard to tell: She embraced the discomfort with ease, taking command of the space with a calm demeanor and spiritual presence that felt both humble and persuasive.

From listening to McLorin Salvant's exquisite performance here, I also couldn't tell that when she was 15, she was listening to Alice in Chains, sported a Mohawk and was into what she calls "radical feminist punk stuff," as she told NPR after the performance. "Sometimes I still really like Bikini Kill, and I still have my little Pearl Jam grunge moments."

What can be heard in each song is a seasoned jazz singer with a vast vocal range, meticulous technical execution and a superb classical vocal foundation, which actually began when she was just 8. Her background in classical piano is evident in the inventive harmonic and melodic construction of the first three songs heard here; all are romantically themed McLorin Salvant compositions from her third album, For One to Love, recorded in 2015. The record won her a 2016 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

McLorin Salvant closes with "Omie Wise," an American folk song that tells the tragic story of murder victim Naomi Wise and her husband and killer, John Lewis:

Then pushed her in deep waters where he knew that she would drown

He jumped on his pony and away he did ride

The screams of little Omie went down by his side.

Feminist themes are common in McLorin Salvant's music, and while "Omie Wise" addresses gender-based violence, she says she sings difficult songs like this to address an important historical legacy. "We don't sing to our kids and we don't know any of our folk music anymore," McLorin Salvant says. "But like all of the history of race songs, coon songs, minstrel music, music from Vaudeville, all of that is like, 'No, we're not going to address that — tha

Every Tiny Desk is special, but sometimes the stars align and we're treated to an artist just as he's coming into his own. Six months after releasing Care For Me — a sophomore studio LP on which Saba transforms his survivor's guilt into something equal parts traumatic and transcendent — the Chicago native paid a visit to Tiny Desk. His performance at NPR's Washington, D.C. headquarters came just two days after he announced his first tour of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea, scheduled to begin in November. It's an incredible achievement for an independent artist who released one of 2018's best hip-hop albums without the benefit, or creative constraints, that come with major-label backing.

To help translate Care For Me live, Saba brought along a band consisting of the same musicians who helped bring his album to life in the studio — including Daoud Anthony and daedaePivot, who produced the entire LP with him; instrumentalists Cheflee and Brandon Farmer; theMIND and Kaina, who contributed vocals on the record; and another featured vocalist and special guest that Saba took extra pride in introducing.

"You're not gonna believe me when I say it," he prepped the crowd, turning to the tall man wearing the Saba tee and Panama hat. "This is Chandlar, my father." Fans of the album may be familiar with Saba's references to his dad on the songs "Life" and "Prom / King" — the epic seven-and-a-half minute eulogy to Saba's cousin and Pivot Gang rap collective founding member, John Walt, whose 2017 murder serves as the impetus for Care For Me. But Chandlar is also an accomplished soul singer, songwriter and producer in his own right, as well as one of Saba's earliest musical influences.

In a live set that proved to be as resonant as Care, Saba and his band showcased the album's emotional depth and range with stark juxtaposition, like the sound of the bright hook on album closer, "Heaven All Around Me," set against a particularly haunting version of "Life." It

There's so much joy in the sound of the Hammond organ, especially for those of us of a certain age. Hearing it can transport you to the early '70s, when every rock band seemed to have one in its arsenal: The Allman Brothers, Santana, Deep Purple. In the hands of true masters — like the late Billy Preston and the very-much-alive Booker T. Jones — the organ can be a melodic, funky rhythm machine.

Cory Henry's name belongs in the same breath as the Hammond organ masters of the past. The instrument creates the central sound of his dynamic, neo-soul- and funk-infused musical identity, and he opens his turn behind the Tiny Desk with what feels like an encore: the full-on soul assault of "Love Will Find a Way." The song twists and turns, then winds up as a full-on celebration — and it's only the first song in his set.

Henry's keyboard skills are on full display during a synth solo in "Trade It All," which also spotlights his entire band. To my mind, they'd have sounded right at home on Stax Records in the '70s — no small accomplishment. "Send Me a Sign" then showcases some of the roots of Henry's songwriting; it's inspired by church sermons that bloom into group sing-alongs. Just another way Cory Henry digs way back to give us something new and exciting.

Set List

"Love Will Find a Way"
"Trade It All"
"Send Me Sign"

The energy in the room was buoyant and vibrant from the moment they walked in the door. OutKast star Big Boi, Sleepy Brown of the prolific Atlanta production collective Organized Noize, and their eight-member backing band have been working together for 20-plus years, and their chemistry is instantaneous and undeniable.

These guys helped redefine the sound and style of hip-hop in the '90s, incorporating funk and psychedelia while transcending genre boundaries. As half of OutKast — still the only rap group ever to take home Album of the Year at the Grammys — Big Boi continues to thrive as a solo act, riding the charts with last year's Boomiverse and its hit single "All Night."

Big Boi played that infectious, horn-drenched banger at the Tiny Desk, and book-ended it with two of his best-known OutKast songs: "So Fresh, So Clean" from 2000's Stankonia and "The Way You Move" from 2003's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Along the way, he and his stellar supporting players just keep feeding off each other in a set that's bound to leave you smiling.

PERSONNEL
Big Boi (lead vocals), Sleepy Brown (vocals), David Brown (guitar), Preston Crump (bass), Omar Phillips (drums), DJ Cutmaster Swift (turntables), Jason Freeman (trumpet), Jerry Freeman (trumpet), Keisha Williams (backing vocals), Terrance "Scar" Smith (backing vocals)

SET LIST
"So Fresh, So Clean"
"All Night"
"The Way You Move"

It's appropriate that the pioneering Mexican band Café Tacvba (Tacuba) start its set with "Olita del Altamar" ("Waves from the High Seas") from the group's 2012 album El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco. It's essentially an incantation of the magic that transpired during their performance behind Bob Boilen's desk. The lyrics sing of the comings and goings of waves, symbolic of the passage of time and fueled by the Mexican folk rhythm son jarocho, a favorite of the band's since their start almost 30 years ago.

They then fast forward to "Diente de León" ("Dandelion"), from their 2017 album Jei Beibi. It's a majestic, stripped-down version that puts the emphasis back on the lyric, a plea for existential and environmental harmony using the metaphor of the weedy flower.

As usual, lead vocalist Rubén Albarrán is a captivating central presence, evoking a sense of down-home camaraderie with his ever friendly smile that has become the band's most outward image. Having seen the band play in front of dedicated fans in massive stadiums in Mexico City, it's striking to see his movements limited to a few careful spins and dance steps while still managing to embody the intense energy of their music.

Their song "Las Flores," from their 1994 album Re, slips into the ska groove that attracted fans to rock en Español in general and to Los Tacvbas in particular, a beat that captures the adventurous musical energy that swept all of Latin America in the early 1990s.

Not all bands would end their set with a power ballad, though very few bands hold their audience's attention and dedication like Café Tacvba. But that's just how they close their set, the four principal members together for almost 30 years, casting a musical spell that still captivates after all this time.

SET LIST
"Olita del Altamar"
"Diente de León"
"Las Flores"
"Que No"

Her nervousness was palpable and stood in stark contrast to her fully produced stage show. "I'm sorry I'm shy," Florence Welch told the crowd of NPR family and friends gathered for her Tiny Desk performance. "If this was a big gig, I'd probably be climbing all over here and running around."

Opening with the song "June," from Florence + the Machine's 2018 album High As Hope, Florence performed with her eyes closed. By the end of the three-song set, she fully embraced the experience and gave in to the rapturous audience. Within seconds of hearing her first note, the raw power of her un-amplified voice was chilling.

It's impossible to talk about Florence without her backing band. Tom Monger adds exquisite ethereal textures to the songs with his stunning mastery of the pedal harp. Hazel Mill's backing vocals and anthemic power chords on the keys accentuate the poignancy of the lyrics at just the right moments. And Robert Ackroyd's rhythmic, steady acoustic guitar drives the music forward.

But the intensity of the musicality is almost secondary to the message in her lyrics. Ear-worm melodies coupled with repetitive phrases create universal, awe-inspiring anthems. At the end of her first song, Florence implored the crowd to hold on to each other. In "Patricia," she insisted it's such a wonderful thing to love. After 14 enchanting minutes, it's impossible to disagree.

SET LIST
"June"
"Patricia"
"Ship to Wreck"

Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez gave our office audience a very quick lesson on why pianists from that island nation are so impressive: they treat the piano as the percussion instrument it is. Rodríguez immediately let fly with an intense flurry of notes that were as melodic as they were rhythmic.

The mash up of European lyricism and Afro-Cuban percussion is at the heart of the Cuban piano tradition and it is very present in the first song. It wasn't long before Rodríguez dug deep into rapid-fire syncopation along with drummer Michael Olivera and guitarist/ bassist Munir Hossn.

Iconic music producer/composer Quincy Jones heard Rodríguez during a performance at a European jazz festival and took him under this wing, eventually signing him to Jones' management company. When you listen to the expansive and lyrical exploration of the second song in this Tiny Desk set, "Bloom," it's easy to hear what captured Jones' attention.

The West Africa-based Yoruba spiritual tradition, commonly known as Santeria, infuses so much of Cuban daily life in music and Rodríguez closes with his take on the music dedicated to the Orisha Yemaya, the goddess of the ocean and all waters. The song's melody is a derivation of the song associated to Yemaya and the Tiny Desk trio explores the rhythms of the melody, up to and including the sing-along at the end.

Every exposure to Cuban music presents an opportunity to walk alongside historical music figures and Santeria spirits alike. This performance is no exception. Watching these three performances repeatedly reveals new musical turns that slowly reveal how Alfredo Rodríguez is making a name for himself, alongside two incredibly talented, like-minded band mates.

SET LIST
"Dawn"
"Bloom"
"Yemaya"

Self-proclaimed "Funklordz" Chromeo played with a live band for the first time at the Tiny Desk. The duo usually performs their live shows over backing tracks with shimmering chrome guitars and keyboards mounted on mannequin lady legs. David Macklovitch (Dave 1) and Patrick Gemayel (P-Thugg) met when they were 15 while growing up in Montreal and have been cranking out the electro-funk jams ever since. On being Canadian, P-Thugg announced in his robot voice "it's very, very cold" to which Dave 1 quipped, "it's cold... free healthcare." At first glance, their Jewish and Arab partnership might seem unlikely. But their signature sounds are undeniably infectious, epitomized by P-Thugg's Talk Box - an instrument that transforms his vocals into robotic sounds.

With a nod to DC's own funky go-go music scene of the '70s, their band was outfitted in go-go-style matching uniforms custom embroidered with the words "Funk Lordz". The breakdown at the end of the song "Don't Sleep" was a fitting tribute to NPR's hometown, Washington, D.C.

The Philadelphia based line-up included keyboardist Eugene "Man-Man" Roberts and legendary percussionists Rashid Williams and Aaron Draper who have played with the likes of John Legend, Jill Scott, The Roots, Adele, and Erykah Badu. Eric Watley filled out the low end with Dave 1 on electric guitar and P-Thugg on bass, rounding out the sextet.

The band played three tracks from their fifth album, Head Over Heels. They tossed in the backbeat-thumping "Jealous (I Ain't With It)" from 2014's White Women in a medley that opened the energized set. Listening to Chromeo is a joyous affair. Watching them get funky with a stellar band behind The Desk for the very first time, it's impossible to sit still.

SET LIST
"Count Me Out/Jealous (I Ain't With It)"

"Don't Sleep"

"Must've Been"

He came to the Tiny Desk with friends, a lot of friends. In fact, Josh Karpeh, best known in the music world as Cautious Clay, put together a backing vocal ensemble of friends he's known since his days as a music student at The George Washington University here in D.C. And so, with five singers - along with a drummer, keyboardist and a bassist - Cautious Clay brought a warm, thoughtful and chill vibe to the Tiny Desk.

I was first struck by Cautious Clay's charismatic spirit at a sold-out show in D.C. earlier this year. And while I was already captivated by his seemingly effortless singing, with hints of James Blake and Sampha, when he picked up his saxophone and, later, a flute, I was won over by his rich sound-palette. Here at the Tiny Desk, Cautious Clay opens with "Cold War," a song that I interpret to be about commitments within relationships. The line, "In it for the monetary growth and power / But we divided at the bottom of this whiskey sour" shows the humor and insight that I love in his lyrics.

There's good reason why I'm so certain that this little-known artist will be well-known in the coming year: he's a bright talent, exploring music with a curiosity and invention that is genuine, without pretense and with intentions that aren't aimed at fame but rather meant for friends.

SET LIST
"Cold War"

"Call Me"

"Stolen Moments"

A single voice can send a powerful message - and that's just what Jim James did at the Tiny Desk, with just his voice and an acoustic guitar. His lead-off song, "I'm Amazed," comes from My Morning Jacket's 2008 album Evil Urges. It's a prophetic song in many ways - it speaks not only of a divided nation and the need for justice but also to the beauty in the life and plight of others. It's something Jim James would find greater appreciation for after he fell from a stage at a My Morning Jacket concert, just three days before Evil Urges was to be released, sustaining life-threatening injuries. It would be a life-changing event and the inspiration for his first solo album years later, in 2013, Regions of Light and Sound of God.

Jim James' second song at the Tiny Desk, "Same Old Lie," comes from an album he released just days before the 2016 Presidential election. The lyrics take on a deeper meaning now, just days before the 2018 elections. "It's the same old lie you been reading about / Bleeding out - now who's getting cheated out? / You best believe it's the silent majority / If you don't vote it's on you, not me."

His closing tune, in what I think of as a purposeful trilogy for these political times, is from two albums he's released this year, Uniform Distortion and Uniform Clarity. The albums contain the same songs, performed with his blistering electric guitar on one and on the other, as here, acoustically. "Over and Over" is perfectly suited for "The Future of Voting 2018" tour he's embarked on. After 20-some odd years of putting out music, Jim James is full of fervor and compassion for others as he sings, "How can we make / The same mistakes / and still carry on / Living the same we did yesterday / Have we learned nothing at all?"

SET LIST
"I'm Amazed"
"Same Old Lie"
"Over and Over"

Watching this performance is to witness a spell being cast, note-by-note. Liniker e os Caramelows (Liniker and the Caramelows) are from Brazil but steeped in the tradition of soul from here in the U.S. They started their turn behind the desk with the ballad "Calmô," a testament to the power of slow songs dripping with soulful emotion. It was a bold statement of just who they are as a band and what they stand for.

You have to go back to the co-mingling of jazz and Brazilian music in the late 1950s to appreciate the affinity our two countries have had for each other musically. Lead vocalist Liniker Barros has obviously done her share of listening to soul singers and she effortlessly slides from lower registers to an emotional falsetto, though the Tiny Desk space did restrict the kind of vigorous floor show of dancing and moving from all the band members that I've seen at the bigger live performances they've done.

Liniker and the band shook things up to high-gear, Brazilian funk on the second part of "Tua," complete with a mid-song, church-revival breakdown, featuring tenor sax. "Remonta" displayed the band's flexibility as they moved from ballad to a reggae bridge, eventually exploding into a majestic African-based Candomblé rhythmic finish.

This performance catches Liniker e os Caramelows as they spiral upwards toward wider acclaim and recognition. Seeing them this close helps to understand just how they cast their musical magic on their audiences.

SET LIST
"Calmô"

"Tua"

"Remonta"

He should have been exhausted, but instead played the Tiny Desk with incredible stamina, holding a single trumpet note that lasted longer than most people can hold their breath. In the days just before this performance, Nicholas Payton played at the Joy of Jazz Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, then Santiago, Chile and, finally, New York City. A member of his team drove them the four hours from NYC so he could nap in the car and be ready to play.

Payton dazzled the audience, simultaneously playing his trumpet and a Fender Rhodes. It's his signature, resonant sound. With the rest of his trio - the rhythmic precision of drummer Jonathan Barber and bassist Ben Williams - Payton's genius virtuosity captivated both faithful fans and anyone in the NPR crowd just discovering his music for the first time.

All three compositions in this set are from Payton's 2017 album, Afro-Caribbean Mixtape. "It is often said that New Orleans is the northernmost region of the Caribbean," says Payton on his website. "Africa is the source of all rhythms. The Afro-Caribbean Mixtape is a study of how those rhythms were dispersed by way of the Middle Passage throughout Cuba, Haiti, and Puerto Rico, then funneled through the mouthpiece of New Orleans to North America and the rest of the world."

Racial constructs are notably relevant in the last tune, "Jazz Is A Four-Letter Word," which was inspired by the autobiography of drummer and activist Max Roach. You can even hear Roach's sampled voice, fused into the infectious groove, a narrative of black consciousness on display. Ideology aside, the music was on point and the audience couldn't help but sing and clap as the trio took us out on a soulful rhythmic vamp.

SET LIST
"Kimathi"

"Othello"

"Jazz Is A Four-Letter Word"

"I've made music under many brand names. It was a dumb idea," David Bazan jokes during his performance at the Tiny Desk, in his own particularly reflective and self-deprecating way. You can find that music filed under his previous "brands" or incarnations as Headphones, Lo Tom (with TW Walsh and members of Starflyer 59) and his own name. But here Bazan returns to the one that first gave him voice: Pedro the Lion, a name he now says he intends to keep.

No matter how dark or disastrous, there's always been an undercurrent of grace to the music of David Bazan. Even in his most righteous anger, empathy seeps through. "When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run" opens the Tiny Desk set with sparse instrumentation — Erik Walters on guitar, Bazan on bass, Sean Lane on brushes and snare — not unlike performances of yesteryear, when slyly clever-yet-quiet riffs put Bazan's sardonic wit front and center. Twenty years after being released on Pedro the Lion's debut album, It's Hard to Find a Friend, the cheeky song about hypocrisy (exposing the toxic male gaze through double standards of beauty) still rings painfully true.

Bazan then introduces "Yellow Bike," from Pedro the Lion's forthcoming Phoenix, as "cheeky in a different way." With a hiccuping rhythm that rolls like a Tom Petty joint down uncertain roads, Bazan recounts the thrill found in childhood bike rides, and the somewhat terrifying price of freedom that accompanies onset adulthood.

So what about all of those songs released as "David Bazan" from the past decade? Those are now Pedro the Lion songs! That includes "Kept Secrets," originally released on 2016's Blanco. Its slow, doleful sway closed out the Tiny Desk with a hidden hope washed in snow, "white with ocean foam."

Phoenix comes out Jan. 18 via Polyvinyl Records.

SET LIST
"When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run"
"Yellow Bike"
"Kept Secrets"

Midway through Half Waif's Tiny Desk, singer Nandi Rose Plunkett stops to let us all know that this particular Half Waif show is extra special. "So today we're actually 'Full Waif,' because I am joined by my dear friends," she says. "These are all musicians who have played with the band Half Waif over the past five years, but we've never all played together until now! So thanks for the opportunity to get 'Full Waif' together."

The band, more often a trio, with Nandi singing her songs and playing keyboards, with Zack Levine on drums and Adan Carlo bass synth and guitar, put out their third album Lavender earlier in the year. The three intimate songs performed here, all from that album, are stripped to their essence. So when they closed with "Salt Candy," the line "I wanted to be carried in my mother's arms / I wanted to be buried in my mother's arms," in this setting and with the spare punctuation of electronic drums and textures, sitting alongside Nandi's voice, was particularly chilling.

I've always found a sense of solitude in Half Waif's music and their lead-off performance of "Lavender Burning," with its opening line, "Staring out into the shifting darkness / Tryin' to give a name to the place where my heart is," reinforces my love for their peaceful, almost backwoods calm.

SET LIST
"Lavender Burning"
"Silt"
"Salt Candy"

The story of Bernie and the Believers is the most powerful I've ever come across at the Tiny Desk. It's about a beautiful act of compassion that ultimately led to this performance, and left me and my coworkers in tears.

I discovered the music of Bernie Dalton among the thousands of Tiny Desk Contest entries we received earlier this year. The band's singer, Essence Goldman, had submitted the entry and shared Bernie's story. You should hear her tell it in her own words at the Tiny Desk (and I choke up every time I hear it). In summary she said that a few years ago, Bernie — a father, a songwriter and a musician in his mid-forties, and an avid surfer with a day job as a pool cleaner — answered an ad she had posted offering voice lessons. Essence was a performer trying to manage her own career as a single mom, and Bernie was trying to improve his talents.

Bernie drove 90-minutes from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, eagerly showing up early to his voice lessons with Essence. But not long after they started working together, Bernie lost his voice. They didn't think much of a it at first, but then things got worse. He had trouble swallowing and eating. Essence encouraged Bernie to see a doctor and after some tests Bernie Dalton was diagnosed with bulbar-onset ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. He began to lose the use of his hands and, along with it, the ability to play guitar.

With a prognosis of only one-to-three years left to live, Essence offered to raise money so that Bernie and his daughter could travel together. But what Bernie wanted more than anything was to make a record. So he asked Essence to not just be his voice teacher, but his voice. From there, they got to business. Essence pulled together a team of producers, engineers and musicians, while Bernie guided the creative direction through gestures and a dry-erase board. They wrote and recorded a new song every day. Their first single, "Unusual Boy," was the one they included in their 2018 Tiny Desk Contes

The group is new, but all of the members of boygenius — Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers — are Tiny Desk Concert alumae. In fact, Julien has been behind my desk twice before. So when the usual nerve-racking session was over and I shouted out, "So, is it any easier the second or third time?" I had to laugh when I got a resounding "No!" from all of them. The notion of playing in broad daylight, in an office, without having your voice coming out of a PA and with an audience close enough to touch is not only intensely intimate but also intimidating. That's not only true to these three, newly collaborating, under-25-year-olds. It was also true of, say, Ralph Stanley (who was older than their ages combined) when he sang a cappella behind my desk.

But what came through as these three heartfelt singers performed was the strength of their songs. My first attraction to each of them as artists was the songwriting. In fact, the title track to Julien Baker's first album, Sprained Ankle, is what got me to a show of hers early in 2016, which introduced me to the opening act, Lucy Dacus. (You can hear them tell their tale on an upcoming All Songs Considered.) Boygenius only has six total tunes, all from their just-released, self-titled EP, and here they perform half of that catalog. What you get at the Tiny Desk is a frailer version of these more fleshed-out songs from a band that is likely quite temporary.

For their closing tune at the Tiny Desk, "Ketchum, ID," Julien, Phoebe and Lucy each take a verse. Lucy's verse ends the song with the line, "Let's dissolve the band, move to Idaho." And the chorus to the song, in stunning harmony, echoes the mileage of the lifestyle, how they live and how they met: "I am never anywhere / Anywhere I go / When I'm home I'm never there / Long enough to know."

This trio is a special gift to us all in 2018.

SET LIST
"Souvenir"
"Me & My Dog"
"Ketchum, ID"

When dvsn visited NPR for this Tiny Desk concert, it reminded me of the first time I saw them two years ago in New York City. They decided to wash the desk in vibrant blue, purple and orange lighting, brought in by dvsn's team to make the space feel like a concert hall. And while the audience at NPR was almost as densely packed as that NYC venue, it felt much like my live introduction to the group — grandiose in presentation, but at the same time, deliberately intimate in delivery.