NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

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2017
2017x1
Declan McKenna
Episode overview
Hear the spirited young singer-songwriter take on religion, poverty and politics, armed with just a guitar and some unrelenting hooks.
2017x2
Donny McCaslin
Episode overview
Hear McCaslin, the saxophonist and bandleader whose group backed David Bowie on Blackstar, near the anniversary of that album's release. Selections include an instrumental take on Bowie's "Lazarus."
2017x3
Lila Downs
Episode overview
With a voice that borrows heavily from opera, Downs performs the kind of full-throated mariachi singing that would fit right in at Mexico City's Garibaldi Square — ground zero for mariachi.
2017x4
Brent Cobb
Episode overview
Cobb's words shimmer like a tall glass of sweet tea in the late-morning sun. Watch the country singer-songwriter perform four songs from his debut album.
2017x5
BADBADNOTGOOD
Episode overview
The jazz band, known for its soulful interpretations of songs by Nas and Ol' Dirty Bastard, plays its own new material live in the NPR Music offices.
2017x6
Miramar
Episode overview
Watch the Virginia band sweep the NPR crowd off its feet with a collection of exquisite boleros by Puerto Rican composer Sylvia Rexach.
2017x7
Gallant
Episode overview
The rising R&B star performs three falsetto-drenched highlights from his 2016 debut, Ology — including "Bourbon," which features a guest rap from Chance The Rapper collaborator Saba.
2017x8
D.R.A.M.
Episode overview
The rapper/singer storms the NPR Music offices, activating his signature smile and bouncing through five highlights from his catalog — including the smash single "Broccoli."
2017x9
Run The Jewels
Episode overview
Killer Mike and El-P continue to out-muse each other in a supergroup that somehow seems to get better, louder, and more pertinent since their start in 2013.
2017x10
Esmé Patterson
Episode overview
Esmé Patterson has dropped the banjos and folk from her previous project Paper Bird, and in their place are electric guitars and a backing band worth getting behind.
2017x11
Agnes Obel
Episode overview
Agnes Obel manipulated the Tiny Desk to better suit the deeply alluring and powerful music she brought to us.
2017x12
Little Simz
Episode overview
Little Simz has been compared to Lauryn Hill for her self-reflective wordplay. And though the British lyricist is a relative new-comer, her Tiny Desk performance was poised and confident.
2017x13
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Episode overview
To celebrate Fat Tuesday, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band brought their euphoric horns to the Tiny Desk for a raucous, joyous set.
2017x14
Ninet
Episode overview
One of Israel's very popular artists may be walking a similar path to early-career Joan Jett — she brought that same intensity to the Tiny Desk.
2017x15
Maren Morris
Episode overview
One of the newest Grammy winners stops by the Tiny Desk to share her winking, sometimes tongue-in-cheek songs.
2017x16
Tank And The Bangas
Episode overview
Tank And The Bangas' victory lap around the Tiny Desk was momentous, celebratory and deeply touching, with a flair and alchemy of styles that could come from New Orleans.
2017x17
Red Baraat's Holi Celebration
Episode overview
The Brooklyn bhangra band come to the Tiny Desk in celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival of color that welcomes the coming of spring.
2017x18
Sampha
Episode overview
A Tiny Desk Concert as intimate as it gets (that's saying something). Just Sampha, a piano and three heart-wrenching songs that seem to double as coping mechanisms.
2017x19
Delicate Steve
Episode overview
This fierce and lyrical guitar player writes playful instrumental music led by hooky vocals — but there is no voice, just the human-like twang of a glass slide on a guitar.
2017x20
Overcoats
Episode overview
Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell's vibrant vocal harmonies are set against an electronic backdrop that feels spacious and refreshing.
2017x21
Noname
Episode overview
The power of language to penetrate a difficult subject, and the power of performance to share that language, are the gifts Noname brought to the Tiny Desk.
2017x22
Tash Sultana
Episode overview
It's astonishing to watch Sultana's fluidity on her instrument, like a natural extension of her body. She also plays bass, saxophone, trumpet, flute and more, but kept it "simple" for the Tiny Desk.
2017x23
Sinkane
Episode overview
You can hear a great New York jazz band in the rhythms of Sinkane, but you can also hear the influence of Bob Marley and the hypnotic repetition of Sudanese desert sounds.
2017x24
Ljova And The Kontraband
Episode overview
Composer, arranger and viola player Ljova lead his Kontraband to the Tiny Desk for an eclectic swirl of Western classical, jazz, tango and Eastern European and Balkan folk music.
2017x25
Chicano Batman
Episode overview
Chicano Batman comes with a sound that perfectly captures dark lounges, quinceñera dances, car shows and backyard parties.
2017x26
alt-J
Episode overview
There's a self-imposed rule for Tiny Desk Concerts: No artist can visit twice unless there's something wholly different about what they're doing. alt-J was happy to oblige.
2017x27
Antonio Lizana
Episode overview
The traditions of flamenco and jazz are disparate, but in the hands of a few Spanish jazz musicians, these two worlds commingle and find common ground.
2017x28
Avery*Sunshine
Episode overview
The gospel-trained singer showcased why she counts Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson as fans.
2017x29
Peter Silberman
Episode overview
A strange condition hushed the life of Peter Silberman, resulting in what may be the quietest Tiny Desk Concert ever.
2017x30
Aimee Mann
Episode overview
"This song is called 'You Never Loved Me' — it's another cheery, optimistic number," says Aimee Mann, introducing the second of four songs in this Tiny Desk Concert.
2017x31
Danilo Brito
Episode overview
Danilo Brito and his band brought their dextrous expression of choro music to the Tiny Desk, a long-established musical style that has its roots in the streets and backyards of Brito's native Brazil.
2017x32
Tim Darcy
Episode overview
Tim Darcy of Montreal band Ought brings his mysterious solo work, from the album Saturday Night, to the Tiny Desk. The record he says, was his chance to “get back to my roots, in my own voice.”
2017x33
Troker
Episode overview
Mexico may not be known for its jazz, but the young lions of Troker are a promising hope to make the country and its capital city a destination.
2017x34
Julia Jacklin
Episode overview
A restrained, whisper-soft Tiny Desk concert from Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin with songs taken from her debut album Don't Let The Kids Win.
2017x35
Gabriel Garzón-Montano
Episode overview
Gabriel Garzón-Montano spent three years writing and recording his beautiful, dense album Jardin -- but for his Tiny Desk visit, he stripped it all down to two elements, the piano and his voice.
2017x36
Royal Thunder
Episode overview
What happens when you ask a hard-rock band to unplug its thunder? It draws power from a raw, desperate vulnerability.
2017x37
Nick Grant
Episode overview
The Atlanta-based MC came through with the flu and coolly earned our praise. How sick is that?
2017x38
Violents & Monica Martin
Episode overview
While her band was on hiatus, Monica Martin joined Jeremy Larson's project Violents, yielding a lush record of electronic pop, translated into a quieted set at the Tiny Desk.
2017x39
Perfume Genius
Episode overview
The band's long-awaited performance at the Tiny Desk was both beautiful and, at times, intense, featuring three deeply personal songs by frontman Mike Hadreas.
2017x40
Penguin Cafe
Episode overview
Penguin Cafe folds in sounds from around the world and throughout music history — Africa, Kraftwerk, Brazil and Franz Schubert.
2017x41
Tigers Jaw
Episode overview
The duo strips down to acoustic guitar and keyboard for a strikingly intimate set, illuminating their close harmonies that tangle like garlands.
2017x42
Holly Macve
Episode overview
Backed by a suitably low-key band, Macve would sound subtly radiant just about anywhere, from your nearest country bar to the most dreamily lit stage in Twin Peaks.
2017x43
Ravi Coltrane Quartet
Episode overview
Artistic legacy, evolution and studied ease coalesced at this Tiny Desk Concert, with Coltrane offering four interpretations of his and others' works.
2017x44
Helado Negro
Episode overview
Helado Negro ditches his bank of electronics for alto and tenor saxophones, bringing his utterly unique style to a intense, perfectly balanced Tiny Desk Concert.
2017x45
Chance The Rapper
Episode overview
Chance The Rapper, fresh from a 23,000-strong, sold-out show the night before, brought a thoughtful and fresh take to his Tiny Desk concert.
2017x46
Jay Som
Episode overview
Melina Duterte may have played all the instruments on Jay Som's newest record, Everybody Works, but her touring band brought a rougher edge to those silky recordings.
2017x47
Fragile Rock
Episode overview
Fragile Rock is a band that relies on the boogie of The B-52s, the melancholy of The Smiths and the humor of Kermit the Frog. Oh, and they're all puppets.
2017x48
Tuxedo
Episode overview
Tuxedo, the unlikely-on-paper funk-soul duo of Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, brought a left-of-center sonic approach and a sharp sense of style to their Tiny Desk Concert.
2017x49
Rare Essence
Episode overview
Rare Essence has been bringing go-go to the world since 1976 — the group brought that pedigree, and the genre's massive meld of funk, rhythm and blues and soul, to this raucous hometown Tiny Desk.
2017x50
Albin Lee Meldau
Episode overview
Albin Lee Meldau possesses a thunderous, deeply affecting voice, which he uses to tell some utterly dark, but demonstrably cathartic, tales.
2017x51
The Shins
Episode overview
James Mercer, the emotional and creative heart of The Shins, gives a moving performance at the Tiny Desk, with two new songs and a classic from the band's 2003 album Chutes Too Narrow.
2017x52
Aldous Harding
Episode overview
Intensity in songs often expresses itself as volume – a loud guitar, a scream, a piercing synth line. But in the case of Aldous Harding it's in the spaces, the pauses, and her unique delivery.
2017x53
Diet Cig
Episode overview
Diet Cig's songs crackle like Pop Rocks, but with a confrontational honesty and striking gravity — and on top of Bob Boilen's desk.
2017x54
Maggie Rogers
Episode overview
The rising pop star performs three of her best-known songs, including a sweet solo take on her career-making “Alaska.”
2017x55
ALA.NI
Episode overview
ALA.NI captures and conveys a reverent love of early-20th-century music, while injecting those sounds with charisma and charm well suited for any era.
2017x56
DJ Premier & The Badder Band
Episode overview
One of hip-hop's most revered producers brings his songs to life behind the Tiny Desk, with the help of a four-piece band.
2017x57
Jason Isbell
Episode overview
The Alabama singer-songwriter and his band perform three songs from The Nashville Sound, but their set includes a few surprises, too.
2017x58
Jidenna
Episode overview
The Nigerian-American MC and his band perform three reworked selections from Jidenna's impeccable debut album, The Chief.
2017x59
Frances Cone
Episode overview
The Brooklyn-based band crafts infectious pop music that builds dramatically before giving way to a quiet calm.
2017x60
Bleachers
Episode overview
Jack Antonoff re-arranged three songs from his band's latest album, Gone Now, for the Tiny Desk.
2017x61
L.A. Salami
Episode overview
The story songs and poetry of Lookman Adekunle Salami, who writes and records as L.A. Salami, recall the brilliant and epic ramblings of Bob Dylan.
2017x62
Snail Mail
Episode overview
Snail Mail's sleepy songs have a way of waking you up. Watch the band perform music from its quietly stunning Habit EP, plus a new song played solo by Lindsey Jordan.
2017x63
SsingSsing
Episode overview
It's safe to say this Korean, cross-dressing rock band looks and sounds like no one who's ever performed at the Tiny Desk.
2017x64
Bomba Estereo
Episode overview
Bomba Estereo is not known as a hushed band. Member Simon Mejia said this Tiny Desk performance was the group's quietest, a stripped-down treatment that illustrates the inherent quality of the music.
2017x65
Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers
Episode overview
It's hard to think of an artist who's brought more joy to more people, across more generations — and in more ways — than Steve Martin.
2017x66
Chronixx
Episode overview
The Jamaican reggae star proudly carries the torch of his country's roots reggae legends.
2017x67
Dawg Yawp
Episode overview
Welcome the world of Dawg Yawp, the musical concoction of Rob Keenan and Tyler Randall, where drones and toy pianos are likely to collide with heavy metal electronics and a well-placed melody.
2017x68
Paramore
Episode overview
Paramore captures the moment between rapture and its comedown. Watch the band rearrange songs from its sparkling pop album After Laughter.
2017x69
Landlady
Episode overview
Landlady's music is more than sonic exploration, it's an adventure. The songs can feel a bit drugged-out – a bit high and full of curiosity – but never overly intoxicated or out-of-touch.
2017x70
Randy Newman
Episode overview
Watch the six-time Grammy winner go solo behind the Tiny Desk.
2017x71
Hanson
Episode overview
Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson just celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band. To celebrate, watch them perform three of their post-“MMMBop” career highlights.
2017x72
Thundercat
Episode overview
Thundercat is willing and able to shape-shift to fit into just about any box you show him, but he won't stay in there for long.
2017x73
The Perceptionists
Episode overview
Watch hip-hop veterans Mr. Lif and Akrobatik team up behind the Tiny Desk.
2017x74
Shabazz Palaces
Episode overview
Hip-hop's otherworldly lot touches down on Bob Boilen's desk for some Afrofuturistic mind travel.
2017x75
Japanese Breakfast
Episode overview
For this Tiny Desk concert, Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner replaced her gauzy synths with a string quartet. The result is something to behold.
2017x76
Natalia LaFourcade
Episode overview
The Grammy-nominated singer's Tiny Desk is an ode to a magical time in Mexican popular music.
2017x77
The Roots Feat. Bilal
Episode overview
Yes, it happened. Black Thought, Questlove and the entire crew packed in behind the Tiny Desk to perform a new song called “It Ain't Fair.”
2017x78
Gracie and Rachel
Episode overview
Gracie And Rachel mix piano pop with darker, classic violin arrangements to make songs full of mystery and tension. They're joined in this Tiny Desk performance by percussionist Richard Watts.
2017x79
Nate Smith + KINFOLK
Episode overview
The drums take center stage at this Tiny Desk. Watch veteran jazz percussionist Nate Smith dazzle the NPR audience in a transfixing performance.
2017x80
Wyclef Jean
Episode overview
The hip-hop statesman walked through our doors greeting and charming anyone within arm's reach. Once in front of an audience, he was in attack mode, including a unique rendition of his signature hit.
2017x81
Ani DiFranco
Episode overview
With the help of a backing band that includes Ivan Neville and Jenny Scheinman, the iconic singer-songwriter plays three songs from across her tough and uncompromising career.
2017x82
The Mynabirds
Episode overview
Singer Laura Burhenn is joined by Jessica Lea Mayfield and the Umoja Choir for songs inspired by the political and cultural upheaval of 2016.
2017x83
Aminé
Episode overview
The Portland artist with the most mispronounced name in hip-hop puts on an unforgettable performance.
2017x84
Now, Now
Episode overview
The band has new tools in its arsenal, but even in a stripped-down Tiny Desk performance, its focus on tiny moments between people just outside of love is as sharp as ever.
2017x85
Benjamin Booker
Episode overview
Benjamin Booker has a deeply tender voice that, at times, can feel like a whisper But it always cuts to the heart.
2017x86
Billy Corgan
Episode overview
Billy Corgan, complicated frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins, has had a tumultuous decade-and-a-half. His visit to the Tiny Desk, with a string quartet backing him, was anything but.
2017x87
Ledisi
Episode overview
In person, the master R&B vocalist impresses not just with her exquisite artistry, but with her radiant spirit of contentment and grace. Just ask her makeup artist.
2017x88
David Greilsammer
Episode overview
With a knack for cunning juxtapositions, the adventurous pianist stitches together a baroque sonata, a slice of French serenity and a quirky portrait of a mysterious barn owl.
2017x89
Phoebe Bridgers
Episode overview
Her songs come laden with finely detailed observations about hypnotherapy, Jeffrey Dahmer and everything in between. They receive a languid, impeccably-phrased performance at the Tiny Desk.
2017x90
Moses Sumney
Episode overview
The Los-Angeles-based force of nature, one of the most inspired talents of today, shows off a spontaneous side at (and around) the Tiny Desk.
2017x91
Walter Martin
Episode overview
Best known for his role with The Walkmen, as a solo artist he makes unabashedly joyful, sweetly innocent and playful music. And only he would arrive with a barbershop quartet.
2017x92
Ted Leo
Episode overview
Leo's work has, more often than not through the decades, addressed an anxious world, growing and shifting with it and with its listeners. Seven years after his last solo album, he's turned inwards.
2017x93
King Krule
Episode overview
King Krule, the musical project of English singer, songwriter and rapper, Archy Marshall, brings its twisted, woozy tones to the Tiny Desk.
2017x94
Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile
Episode overview
The two singers, songwriters and guitarists bring out the adolescence in each other, poking jabs, goofing around and having fun at the Tiny Desk.
2017x95
Tyler, The Creator
Episode overview
Tyler, The Creator performs three songs from his latest album Flower Boy -- and pulls off (at least) two Tiny Desk firsts in the process, while maturing beyond his class-clown image (mostly).
2017x96
Cigarettes After Sex
Episode overview
This comes close to the quietest Tiny Desk Concert we've ever had. The music Cigarettes After Sex makes is incredibly hushed. It's a sound so minimal it barely exists.
2017x97
This Is The Kit
Episode overview
Effortless storytelling is at the heart of This Is The Kit. And the stories the band's only permanent member, Kate Stables, weaves are profound but sweet with a tone that quietly reels you in.
2017x98
Hanson For The Holidays
Episode overview
Frantic time-lapse set decoration. An intrusive snow machine. Ugly holiday sweaters. It's time to hunker down and soak up a raucous and reverent Christmas party, courtesy of Hanson.