Add
Private Notes
Saxophonist Miguel Zenón is a big thinker — that much is clear from his recorded output, with its deep and inspiring connection to the folk traditions of his native Puerto Rico. But you also get that sense from his turn behind the Tiny Desk, where we can watch the concentration on his face and those of his adventurous band, the Spektral Quartet. This is life-affirming music with curious twists and turns, expertly performed by amazingly talented musicians.
There are two ways to marvel at the stunning unison playing that comes about three-quarters of the way through "Milagrosa." First, listen with your eyes closed. The notes cascade at a such a fast clip, it can leave you breathless. Now, watch with your eyes open: It's a joy to see Zenón and his band read the notes from the page, at times sneaking in visual cues with smiles just below the surface. It must be such a pleasure to make music like this.
SET LIST
"Rosario"
"Milagrosa"
"Villabeño"
When Buddy, a preacher's son from Compton, turns to me with eyebrows raised on the elevator ride inside NPR's corporate headquarters, it's hard to tell if the question that comes next is in preparation for his performance or pure provocation.
"Can we smoke in here?!" he asks with a grin that elicits stifled laughter from his bandmates and a few newsroom journalists along for the ride. It's a blunt request, even from a self-professed "weed connoisseur," and it kicks off one of the most dramatic Tiny Desks in recent memory.
If 2018 signaled the year of disruption in rap — with a shortlist of vets and newcomers trolling their way to the top of the charts — it was dominated by a groundswell of emerging voices who found more creative means to make their mark. Buddy's anticipated full-length debut Harlan & Alondra, named for the cross streets where he lived as a child, placed him among the better company (and on NPR's Best Rap Albums Of 2018). The same soulful hybrid of rapping and singing that compelled Pharrell to sign him as a teenager found Buddy stretching L.A. hip-hop beyond its typical gangsta narrative, while dancing with his dreams and shaking off his demons.
But sometimes being a nonconformist works both ways. So when Buddy proceeded to fire up a blunt midway through his set, we had to stop the show and ask him to put it out before re-recording his song, "Hey Up There." (Smoking is not allowed on NPR property.) The performance was still lit, owing in part to Buddy's Baptist bona fides and his hood's close proximity to Hollywood. He grew up a singing in the choir and watching his dad work the crowd from the pulpit. He's also an alumni of actress Wendy Raquel Robinson's Amazing Grace Conservatory, an L.A. program known for steeping inner-city kids in the performing arts. Between the two, he earned his dramatic chops early. "I'm so used to being in front of an audience of people," he tells me, "just doing my thing and not really caring about it." He's
How do you play an instrument you never physically touch? Watch Carolina Eyck. She's the first to bring a theremin to the Tiny Desk. The early electronic instrument with the slithery sound was invented almost 100 years ago by Leon Theremin, a Soviet scientist with a penchant for espionage. It looks like a simple black metal box with a couple of protruding antennae, but to play the theremin like Eyck does, with her lyrical phrasing and precisely "fingered" articulation, takes a special kind of virtuosity.
"I'm really playing air," she tells the Tiny Desk audience. "I don't touch anything while I play." The position of the hands influences electromagnetic fields to produce pitch and volume. Recognized as one of today's preeminent theremin specialists, Eyck writes her own compositions, such as the pulsating "Delphic" which opens the set, and she's got big shot composers writing theremin concertos for her.
Joining Eyck for this two-musician-in-one Tiny Desk is cellist Clarice Jensen. When she's not making gorgeous, drone-infused albums like last year's For This From That Will be Filled, Jensen directs one of today's leading new music outfits, ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. "Three Leos," composed by Jensen, offers her masterful art of looping the cello into symphonic layers of swirling, submerged choirs with a wistful tune soaring above.
The two musicians close with "Frequencies," a piece jointly composed specifically for this Tiny Desk performance. Amid roiling figures in cello and melodies hovering in the theremin, listen closely for a wink at the NPR Morning Edition theme music.
SET LIST
"Delphic"
"Three Leos"
"Frequencies"
Aaron Lee Tasjan arrived at the Tiny Desk in his fashionable ascot and mustard-colored shirt, sporting reflective, red, rounded sunglasses and mutton chops. As he warmed up, the sound of the middle-and-late 1960s came through his seagreen, Gorsuch 12-string guitar while his voice felt both familiar and fresh. This buoyant, East Nashville-via-Ohio soul and his fabulous band have a knack for channeling Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and The Kinks.
Aaron Lee Tasjan's love for this older sound infuses Karma For Cheap, his recent album, with an optimistic THC-veiled sentiment — one that can be heard on "Songbird," his opening number here at the Tiny Desk. "There's a songbird singing, I'm laying on the floor. Something feels right that has never felt right before."
These are songs of encouragement, and the final tune in this Tiny set, "Set You Free," invokes that sentiment in plain-spoken language: "You gotta change your mind, you gotta plant the seed and let it set you free." All the while, drummer Seth Earnest, guitarist Brian Wright and bassist Tommy Scifres seemingly channeled their love of David Bowie's 1972 song, "The Jean Genie" (a song mixed in Nashville), in its rhythms and vibes. It's all in good fun, exploring the ages and traversing music history. Aaron Lee Tasjan has a knack for making music that is timeless, as good music wants to do.
SET LIST
"Songbird"
"End of the Day"
"Set You Free"
Nate Wood says he only wishes he had more limbs. He made the comment in an interview NPR partner station WBGO, noting only the limitations of his physical body, rather than his ability to multitask. In his latest project, Nate Wood - fOUR, Wood's brain splits attention between four synthesizers, an electric bass and a drum kit, all while singing about futurism. He's his own engineer and roadie, too, who drove himself from Brooklyn to our D.C. office and quietly set up his gear, alone.
His setup is made possible through a long road of ergonomic trial-and-error that includes the precise height of the keyboards, the instrument sequencing and a wearable microphone to minimize physical demand and maximize as many possibilities as he can fit within arm's reach of a drum throne. It's a feat of ingenuity, especially considering Wood plays all of fOUR's tunes in one take. No backing tracks. No overdubs.
But while it's a thrill to see the multi-instrumentalist wizardry here, his music is perhaps best appreciated with eyes closed. Nate Wood pulls us into an industrial, neon dystopia with tunes that stand alone as headphone music without the accompanying visuals, meticulously crafted and with precise execution. This isn't novelty music. You're hearing (and seeing) a mastermind songwriter and mad scientist at work. Just look at that lab coat!
SET LIST
"Rabbit"
"Better If You Try"
"They're Coming"
When Stella Donnelly showed up for this Tiny Desk performance with just her guitar in hand, she immediately won the office over with her broad smile, warmth and good-natured sense of humor. It's the kind of easy-going, open-hearted spirit that makes her one of the most affable live performers you'll see. While there's no doubting her sincerity, she's also got a disarming way of making her often dark and brutal songs a little easier to take in.
For this set, she performed entirely new — and, as of this writing, unreleased — songs from her upcoming full-length debut, Beware of the Dogs. Opening with the title cut, Donnelly smiled cheerfully through the entire performance while reflecting on the horrors that often lurk beneath the surface of seemingly idyllic lives. "This street is haunted like a beast that doesn't know its face is frightening to behold," she sings. "All the painted little gnomes, smiling in a line, trying to get your vote."
She follows with "U Owe Me" — a song that's both comical and eviscerating as she describes a horrible boss she once worked for at a pub in Australia — before closing with what Donnelly describes as "a more run-of-the-mill breakup song" called "Allergies."
Surprisingly, Donnelly chose not to play any of the songs that have gotten her to where she is in her young career — songs like 2017's "Boys Will Be Boys" or last year's "Talking," two savagely frank examinations of misogyny and violence that earned her the reputation for being a fearless and uncompromising songwriter. But the new material demonstrates that her unflinching perspective and potent voice is only getting stronger.
Beware of the Dogs is out March 18 via Secretly Canadian.
SET LIST
"Beware of the Dogs"
"U Owe Me"
"Allergies"
This Blood Orange Tiny Desk is a beautifully conceived concert showing off the craft and care that has made Devonté Hynes a groundbreaking producer and songwriter. It's a distillation of themes found on Dev Hynes' fourth album as Blood Orange, titled Negro Swan. Themes of identity, both sexual and racial, through the eyes of a black East Londoner (now living in New York) run through this album and concert. Dev Hynes is a composer who fits as comfortably in the worlds of R&B, gospel and electronics as he does in the classical world of someone like Philip Glass.
The opening song at the Tiny Desk, "By Ourselves," features Dev Hynes on piano, Jason Arce on saxophone, Eva Tolkin and Ian Isiah on vocals along with a powerful spoken word performance by Ashlee Haze. Ashlee's story is a tale of finding herself and her identity in the words and music of Missy Elliott when she was, in Ashlee's own words, an eight-year old, "fat black girl from Chicago" who discovered "she could dance until she felt pretty" and "be a woman playing a man's game."
"Jewelry," the second song performed, welcomes Mikey Freedom Hart on piano while Dev moves on to electric guitar and vocals reminiscent of a languid Jimi Hendrix, with soul-baring lyrics of pride. The group then offers a rendition of "Holy Will," inspired by the Detroit gospel group The Clark Sisters, as singer Ian Isiah takes this song of praise to a whole new level.
Blood Orange ends as a trio on the final song, "Dagenham Dream." Eva Tolkin and Ian Isiah are on vocals; Dev Hynes works an organ sound while singing about being beaten and bullied as a school kid in his hometown of Dagenham in east London. The power of each of these songs is magnified by the way Blood Orange has woven this performance together. He's a rich, rare and caring talent we first met 11 years ago in a grassy field in Austin, Texas back when he still used the moniker Lightspeed Champion. Now his thoughts are deeper, his message of finding one's place in
Most artists who play the Tiny Desk are at least a little nervous. Performing in broad daylight in a working office full of staring faces is outside the comfort zones of most people. But Chan Marshall, the unforgettable voice behind Cat Power, seemed especially uneasy when she settled in for her set. Rather than taking center stage, close to the audience, she stepped back and to the side to be closer to her pianist and friend, Erik Paparazzi, for much of the performance. She intermittently steadied herself by resting a hand under her chin while clutching a cup of tea, and she ran through three songs without a break, making her set sound more like a Cat Power medley than a series of distinct songs.
Regardless, the music was arresting and beautifully orchestrated, with simple piano lines and brushed drums backing a voice that could only be hers. Opening with "Wanderer," the title track to Cat Power's latest album, Marshall sang of restless love and yearning with a nod toward motherhood and her 3-year-old son: "Twist of fate would have me sing at your wedding / With a baby on my mind, now your soul is in between." She followed with "Woman," another track from Wanderer — originally recorded with Lana Del Rey — before closing with "The Moon," from her 2006 album The Greatest.
As the band played out its final notes, Marshall leaned on her pianist with a look of relief, as if to say, "We got through it!" But she was all smiles afterward, lingering long after the performance to chat warmly with friends and fans — particularly a small group of young children who'd attended with their parents. It was a sweetly endearing end to a memorable afternoon.
SET LIST
"Wanderer"
"Woman"
"The Moon"
Kurt Vile exudes a casualness at the Tiny Desk in his style and body language that is so unlike most anxious artists who come to play behind my desk. Sure, he's done this Tiny Desk thing before, with Courtney Barnett. But even then, I remember thinking that he's got something else on his mind — and it made me laugh this time around when Kurt played his opening tune, "Bassackwards," and sang these words: "I was on the beach but I was thinking about the bay / Got to the bay but by then I was far away."
That idea of being one place and thinking about another, for me, also connects to the way he plays guitar. He seems distracted, yet the complex guitar lines he so nonchalantly plays, along with his musical mate Rob Laakso, are effortlessly beautiful and lyrical.
After they played two new tunes from Kurt Vile's latest record, Bottle It In, Kurt goes solo on an older, self-described "juvenile" song from long ago, recently revived during his Courtney Barnett collaboration last year. "Peeping Tomboy" has its own schizophrenic issues as Kurt sings, "I don't wanna change but I don't wanna stay the same / I don't wanna go but I'm runnin' / I don't wanna work but I don't wanna sit around / All day frownin'."
On the surface, it all can seem just chill. But there's a lot of rumination in these songs — and even when he's gazing into the overhead office lights, I think he got his mind on the stars and the world at large.
SET LIST
"Bassackwards"
"Loading Zones"
"Peeping Tomboy"
There's a magical aura that surrounds Lau Noah as she sits behind my desk and embraces her guitar with one foot propped unnaturally high on a stool. As melodies pour from the strings, she sings these words in Spanish: "On the verge of the soul, there is a red petal, attached to the skins of mortals." A few lines later in the song she continues, "a fragile petal that drinks the water of the most cruel stories: children who have never heard a fairytale, lovers who love, dressed in regret." This is the sort of poetic tale that captured my heart amongst the thousands of entries I watched during the Tiny Desk Contest in 2018. Her song she submitted for the contest is called "La Realidad."
Lau Noah's journey as a songwriter and guitarist occurred by happenstance. She was born in Reus, Spain barely a few hours drive from Barcelona. She speaks and now sings in Catalan, Spanish, English and sometimes Hebrew. She'd played piano growing up (never guitar) and left Spain for New York City five years ago while in her late teens.
On a visit to Montreal in 2016, Lau hoped to go to a Patrick Watson concert with friends. But the performance sold out and she was left alone in an apartment while her friends went to the show. Then a snowstorm ensued. The apartment had two guitars and, with nothing else to do, she picked one up and began to play. She wrote her first song, "Pequitas," which means "Little Freckles." Now, not too many years later, her creativity on both classical guitar, her narrative poetry and the singing of that poetry make the musician Lau Noah a unique spirit.
Before she played her final song, "Red Bird," at the Tiny Desk, she quoted Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, from his novel Don Quixote: "When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies," Lau said, reading from her notes. "Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams is madness. And maddest of all: to see life as it is and not as it should be."
Lau Noah herself w
Mountain Man is the perfect band for a Tiny Desk concert. These three women make the most intimate music; and behind the desk, the voices of Amelia Meath, Molly Erin Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig were the stars. Adorned by only light, rhythmic acoustic guitar, they sing songs that conjure a simpler life: dogs, friends, moonlight, sunlight, skinny dipping, beach towels and sand.
These dear friends have known each other for more than ten years, since their college days in Vermont. They released their first album in 2010 called Made The Harbor and only recently had a follow-up with the pleasantly surprising, 2018 fall release of Magic Ship.
In the eight years between Mountain Man records, Amelia Meath went on to create Sylvan Esso with Nick Sanborn. Molly Sarlé, meanwhile, was in a meditation center in California — at a cliffside trailer in Big Sur — and worked on her own, beautiful solo album, which is due out soon. And Alexandra Sauser-Monnig worked with Hiss Golden Messenger, released her own music under the name ASM and has a new record coming as well.
But there's a true kinship that happens in this trio. Things get quiet, sometimes funny and playful or, at moments, awkward, especially when they talk about "savory oatmeal." Mountain Man is endearing. There's a tour about to happen, and hopefully they won't vanish after that for another eight years. There's no other band like them.
SET LIST
"Rang Tang Ring Toon"
"Moon"
"Stella"
Scott Mulvahill has been trying to win the Tiny Desk Contest for each of its four years. And while he's never won, we all loved him so much we had to invite him to play.
The Afro-Cuban percussionist mesmerizes with his almost otherworldly talent on congas.
Decked out in matching, cobalt blue outfits, the singer and her band had a clear vision: If you want to overcome the times, find strength in numbers.
The Atlanta trap super-producer and son of a preacher man saved the day with a soulful Tiny Desk.
The Brooklynites stand out for their inventive and seamless blend of jazz, R&B and hip-hop.
Myers replaces her album's roaring electric guitars and electronics with a pulsing string quartet, piano and brushed drums — and uncorks a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill."
The artist came to the Tiny Desk masked up, as always, the better to catch a glimpse of her soul.
The U.K.-based singer-songwriter takes the Tiny Desk on a cosmic journey through her Saturn return.
The veteran rocker and a backup band from Italy play songs from their album The Crossing, chronicling an American Dream of rock and roll and Beat poetry.
Philadelphia Rapper Chill Moody and singer Donn T, along with their crew known as &More, were one of the standout entrants in last year's Tiny Desk Contest. They bring a message of hope and love.
The singer from Puerto Rico is part of a movement on the island that emphasizes largely acoustic instruments and a folk-based approach to interpreting life before and after the hurricane of 2017.
Performing unplugged, the band forgoes its usual meticulousness in favor of a shaggy, entirely acoustic mix of new songs and '90s-era deep cuts.
It was a day when sunlight drenched the office and the songs of heart from Courtney Marie Andrews felt right at home.
The R&B singer from Los Angeles is all about showing and spreading love.
Scottish singer, songwriter and essayist Karine Polwart seldom comes stateside, eschewing air travel to reduce her carbon footprint. But on a rare, recent visit, she stopped in D.C. for a Tiny Desk.
These three songs, from Clark's incendiary new album This Land, roar with the assurance and force of a showman at the top of his game.
The music of Theodore is dark and transformative, with the kind of spare elegance you can hear in Sigur Rós or Pink Floyd.
The Calidore String Quartet confirms that the centuries-old formula — two violins, a viola and a cello — is still very much alive and evolving.
Tiny Desk alums Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers surprised us all with their stunning collaboration this year as Better Oblivion Community Center. Together they radiate joy at the desk.
Toro y Moi loses the voice processing, synths and other heavy effects for a stripped-down acoustic set at the Tiny Desk.
Laraaji is best known to some for his ambient work with Brian Eno in the late '70s. He brings his meditative calm to the Tiny Desk in this hypnotic performance.
This is probably the quietest you'll ever hear the first metal band to play the Tiny Desk.
These classically trained artists fill the NPR Music offices with shrieking, rhythmic noise that redefines what an electric guitar can do.
Watch what happens when the smoky-voiced jazz singer from Mexico conspires with an adventuresome string quartet for songs steeped in Latin American traditions.
Watch members of the New York-based group give the world premiere video performances of two recent pieces by Radiohead guitarist and composer Jonny Greenwood.
There is no one making music like this 27-year-old, classically trained opera tenor and pianist. Watch and see why.
Hailing from New Orleans with a love of sticky, bass-bumping funk, Lucky brought along a 10-person band, including a quartet of horns, to capture the full flavor of his debut album Painted.
The group unites sounds from Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, with a dash of New York City thrown in.
Quinn and his musical partner, guitarist and singer Nick Carpenter, arrived from the cool of Anchorage to the swelter of D.C. and performed with remarkable confidence and grace.
Tomberlin is the daughter of a Baptist pastor, grew up singing in the church and, since her teens, has questioned her own beliefs in God and faith. Her songs are delicate and vulnerable.
This just in: The Muppets have arrived at NPR!
The news has stopped!
Count von Count and the NPR kids count us down: 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1!
And there they are at the Tiny Desk: Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Rosita, Abby Cadabby and Cookie Monster, all singing about a sunny day and how everything is A-OK. The Sesame Street crew — including Elmo, Grover and other surprise guests — visited NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Sesame Street's 50 years of teaching the world its A-B-Cs, its 1-2-3s, how to be kind and how to be proud, all while spreading love and joy.
50 Years Young: How The Music Of 'Sesame Street' Keeps Up With The Times
MUSIC INTERVIEWS
50 Years Young: How The Music Of 'Sesame Street' Keeps Up With The Times
Sesame Street has won more major awards than any other group to play the Tiny Desk, including 11 Grammys and 192 Emmys. There was a lot of love as the cast of Sesame Street got to meet NPR hosts and newscasters, who in turn got to geek out meeting their favorite Muppets and the creators behind the felt and fur. These folks include Matt Vogel, Sesame Street's puppet captain and performer, and music director Bill Sherman.
I even got to sing with Grover. And I'll also say, on a personal note, that this may well have been the hardest-working, most dedicated group of performers I've ever worked with. I'm so proud of these Muppets and so happy to celebrate all that they've meant to the world for these 50 years.
Foxing is at the forefront of an emo revival, heavily influenced by late-'90s and early 2000s groups like Sunny Day Real Estate and American Football.
The British madmen brought fury, cathartic rage and deep thoughts to the Tiny Desk for one of the loudest, most raucous performances in memory.
Imogen Heap takes us through her many musical talents, from her Frou Frou musical partner, Guy Sigsworth — and their first new song in 17 years — to an extraordinary performance with musical gloves.
Tasha Cobbs Leonard is widely regarded as one of the best gospel singers performing today. Her set at the Tiny Desk moved many at the NPR offices to tears.
Betty Who brings Roséwave, sun's-out pop to the Tiny Desk with all the usual studio production stripped away.
On Broadway, Be More Chill is a playful burst of frenetic energy and silly, stealthy sweetness. At the Tiny Desk, it holds onto that rowdy, generous spirit while stripping down the arrangements.
The group from Ireland makes music that mixes the organic with the electronic, starting with a large, 34-string lever harp.
Miya Folick was raised a Buddhist in Santa Ana, Calif., and is of Ukrainian and Japanese descent. She sings of conviction, not fiction.
Who would've thought that American Football's fruitful reunion would not only include some of the emo band's best songs, but also a children's choir at the Tiny Desk?
The two musical legends brought plenty of joy to the Tiny Desk, with an unexpected collaboration that works surprisingly well.
Every time she performs live, Erin Rae transforms her quiet storms into different hues of squalling introspection.
The punk-infused art band from Washington, D.C. brings a kinder, gentler and sparer version of the group's music to the Tiny Desk.
As the NPR staff gathered to watch his performance, Jacob Collier sprinted full bore down the hallway for his set, hardly able to contain his creative energy or enthusiasm.
The spirit of Cab Calloway lives on in Masego, the singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist who surprised NPR's Tiny Desk audience with a zany sense of showmanship.
Tamino possesses one of the most remarkable and memorable voices to ever grace the Tiny Desk.
Backed by a band assembled just for this occasion, the breakthrough pop icon performs three joyfully showy songs from Cuz I Love You.
The two bands just released Years to Burn, their first album together since 2005. Now, they've performed three songs — two new, one old — for Calexico's Tiny Desk debut.
The Calle 13 veteran, fresh off her appearance at demonstrations in Puerto Rico, performs three songs that rage with revolutionary intensity.
Bas came to the Tiny Desk to get it, and — in a breathless four-song set — he did exactly that.
David Crosby, Becca Stevens, Michelle Willis and Michael League are The Lighthouse Band, and together they harmonized the heck out of the Tiny Desk.
While Ty Dolla $ign visited NPR to record his own Tiny Desk concert, he also performed a special tribute to his friend, the late Mac Miller.
Among Authors' music isn't casual; there are songs within these songs, and they're not always catchy. They'll take you on a journey worth following.
How does half•alive, known for funky earworms and synchronized dancing, translate to such a cozy space? Have the dancers sit.
Watch a young cellist on the rise, offering music of virtuosity, sweet lyricism and a little fire from his Persian roots.
The Houston-based rapper's mindful words are like a life hack for anyone seeking guidance, with pleas to look past inherent hardships and evil and to stay focused on life's ultimate prizes.
Nicole Bus' sound is reminiscent of vintage R&B, yet still feels current and capable of transcending age and demographics.
Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz made everything seem so easy, pulling a few acoustic instruments out of their car and, in no time, huddling around a single microphone behind the Tiny Desk. With that, Mandolin Orange was ready.
Emily bowed her fiddle while Andrew strummed a guitar and sang about his mom being carried away in a hearse. "Golden Embers" is the lead-off track to Mandolin Orange's 2019 album Tides of a Teardrop. This song shines a light on the darkness that fell on Andrew's family when he was 18.
Now ten years into playing together, this couple from Chapel Hill has a family of their own and recently released their sixth album. The two of them sing and play in such complementary ways; it's heartwarming to watch the ease with which they perform and harmonize. Their second song at the Tiny Desk, "The Wolves," is a story song that, for me, tells a tale on an older woman's life, the "hard road" she's taken and that feeling of wanting to howl at the moon when all is finally right.
There is joy and thoughtfulness in the music of Mandolin Orange. The duo's set ends on the thoughtful side with "Wildfire," a fan favorite from their 2016 album Blindfaller. It's a song with a wish that the Civil War would have left racism to rot on the battlefield, and yet it still rages like "wildfire." It's a sobering message presented with a gentle tone, a tone that instilled hope inside of me — hope that we may all learn the lessons of history and rise above them.
47SOUL's message of equality is meant for the world. It's music without borders, mixing old and new, acoustic and electronic from a band formed in Amman Jordan, singing in Arabic and English.
The pianist and programmer has transformed the acoustic piano into his duet partner.
The singer and mega-hit songwriter showcases three of his own tracks, including "I Luv Your Girl" and two songs from Ménage à Trois: Sextape Vol. 1, 2, 3.
The three Israeli sisters in A-WA mix Yemenite and Arabic traditions with splashes of reggae and hip-hop.
The Tallest Man On Earth's second appearance at the Tiny Desk comes almost 10 years to the day after his first. He returns with a touch of grey and a beard, but no less intense or moving.
With eyes shut, Marley dug deep into the healing power of music with songs from his 2017 album Stony Hill.
Sixteen performers from the Broadway cast crammed behind the Tiny Desk to sing songs and share stories about thousands of airline passengers who were stranded in Newfoundland after 9/11.
Giddens shares songs from her latest album, There is No Other, in an emotional and transfixing performance at the Tiny Desk.
There's a hush to the music of Nilüfer Yanya that made the Tiny Desk the perfect stage for her sound.
Y La Bamba returns for its second Tiny Desk performance with a revised musical vision.
Roseanne Cash has been making great records for forty years, but she's never played or written better music than she's doing right now.
The R&B singer performed songs from her debut full-length, Shea Butter Baby.
In his second visit to the Tiny Desk, Josh Ritter had America on his mind. "We all have to fight against this notion that we're not all human beings."
The brothers and their backing band gave a playful performance of three tracks from their latest album, Happiness Begins.
After performing at the Tiny Desk as one third of the group Mountain Man, Molly Sarlé returns for a soul-stirring solo performance.
Nearly a decade after her first appearance at the Tiny Desk, Sharon Van Etten returns with a full band and a bigger, bolder sound.
The vibrancy of the band can feel childlike and candy-coated. But the group's songs are more about the pain of entering adulthood and leaving some of that sweetness behind.
The Alabama Shakes singer and guitarist brought an eight-piece backing band to the Tiny Desk for a set of deeply personal and affecting songs.
As she settled in for this stripped-down set, Taylor Swift looked out over the office. "I just decided to take this as an opportunity to show you guys how the songs sounded when I first wrote them."
One week after releasing a record-shattering studio debut, the Atlanta native brings a glowing R&B set to the Tiny Desk.
Along with his trio, the pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer cast a spell over the NPR Music offices in this joyful turn behind the Tiny Desk.
The group from Japan is on a mission to expand the conventional meaning of "cute." Their performance included synchronized dancing, pom-poms and matching pink uniforms, with a heavy, angular sound.
Rio Mira's music celebrates life along the river that separates Ecuador and Colombia: soft breezes, loving friends, the embrace of Africa and lots of festejando!
The 34-year old R&B mainstay used his moment at the desk to fit in as many of his most cherished songs as possible — Nine songs in 17 minutes to be exact.
The British rapper made a trip all the way from the UK just for this Tiny Desk performance and powered through a set that made the personal political.
The Tony- and Grammy-winning singer, actor, author and Hamilton star performs three songs from Mr, his genre-bending new solo album.
Sunny War has been homeless, busked on city streets and Venice Beach, left home feeling she was a burden to her mother, battled addiction and still found a way to bring joy to others thru her music.
KOKOKO! are sonic warriors. They seized control of the Tiny Desk, shouting their arrival through a megaphone, while electronic sirens begin to blare.
The Nigerian singer and songwriter is one of the biggest African artists in the world and a pioneer of Afro-fusion, an inescapable sound this year.
The jazz, funk and gospel improv group brought jams and joy to the Tiny Desk.
The insightful pianist offers a Beethoven bonanza, ranging from the mesmerizing pulse of the popular "Moonlight" Sonata to flashes of wry humor and tender beauty.
The singer brought a sparkling pop-disco vibe and a lot of swagger to the sun-filled Tiny Desk.
A nomadic storyteller with a cross-genre style ranging from folk to rap, Mereba slays the devil in her solo set behind the Desk.
The influential reggae group, whose name means "black freedom," brought songs of solidarity and love to the Tiny Desk
The budding superstar debuted a new song with Phony Ppl and performed hits from Fever and Tina Snow during the first night of NPR's Tiny Desk Fest.
The enigmatic and reclusive producer Madlib joins hard-hitting emcee Freddie Gibbs for one of the most memorable Tiny Desks of the year.
"I just want you to know," Raveena told the NPR office, "that in this space that we're in, you're extremely, extremely loved."
Watch the band perform a blissed-out, gently sweeping set featuring three songs from its latest album, Titanic Rising.
The Comet is Coming is a force of nature. The British trio makes the kind of instrumental jazz that takes music lovers out of their comfort zone and into a musical realm they may never have explored.
The LA-based trio makes an intricate blend of jazz, R&B and hip-hop. For their Tiny Desk set, they pulled out all the stops: flutes, flugelhorns, saxophones, keyboards, ukuleles and more.
When Los Lobos gathered behind the Tiny Desk, it felt like they were cramped in the back room of a family Christmas party, calling up tunes from the Latin holiday song book.
