Maia Stern
Director
NPR Tiny Desk Concerts (2008)
Season 2012
Intimate musical performances, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.
Released April 22, 2008
Episode 14 min
None+
Genres: Music
Keywords: tmdb.concert, imdb.concert, tmdb.music, tmdb.irreverent, tmdb.inspirational, tmdb.awestruck, tmdb.joyful
Production Companies: NPR Music
Network: NPR
Country: United States
Languages:
English
S5E1 - Tinariwen
Even in a stripped-down acoustic set, Tinariwen's trance-inducing desert music doesn't disappoint.
Jan. 5, 2012, midnight
S5E2 - Le Butcherettes
Watch singer Teri Gender Bender transform from a soft-spoken musician into a rock 'n' roll beast.
Jan. 9, 2012, midnight
S5E3 - Screaming Females
The band's keen sense of song prevails, especially in a new song called "It All Means Nothing."
Jan. 17, 2012, midnight
S5E4 - Jake Schepps' Expedition Quartet
Banjo master Schepps and friends create an intriguing goulash of Bartók, bluegrass and bebop.
Jan. 19, 2012, midnight
S5E5 - Glenn Jones
Watch the masterful folk guitarist perform a lovely instrumental set at the NPR Music offices.
Jan. 23, 2012, midnight
S5E6 - Anna Calvi
Calvi plays songs from her self-titled debut in this powerful performance at the NPR Music offices.
Jan. 26, 2012, midnight
S5E7 - Girl In A Coma
The San Antonio trio gets back to basics to explore its songs' forms and the soul of its lyrics.
Jan. 30, 2012, midnight
S5E8 - Bill Frisell
The brilliant and nimble guitarist reinvents the songs of John Lennon at the NPR Music offices.
Feb. 3, 2012, midnight
S5E9 - The Creole Choir Of Cuba
The group has revitalized a long-lost culture through music performed entirely in Haitian Creole.
Feb. 6, 2012, midnight
S5E10 - Craig Finn
The Hold Steady singer's stark side is nicely conducive to barren arrangements at the NPR offices.
Feb. 9, 2012, midnight
S5E11 - Red Baraat
The dance-friendly, India-inspired funk group performs a high-energy set at the NPR Music offices.
Feb. 14, 2012, midnight
S5E12 - Joan Soriano
"The Duke of Bachata" gives a raw but beautiful interpretation of bachata at the NPR Music offices.
Feb. 16, 2012, midnight
S5E13 - Joyce El Khoury And Brian Jagde
Hear the fresh-faced opera singers perform Puccini at the NPR Music offices.
Feb. 20, 2012, midnight
S5E14 - The Cranberries
In this performance at the NPR Music offices, the Irish pop band mixes new songs with early hits.
Feb. 23, 2012, midnight
S5E15 - Milagres
A band of selective minimalism, Milagres gets the most of simple sounds at the NPR Music offices.
Feb. 27, 2012, midnight
S5E16 - Pistolera
Through her insightful lyrics, Sandra Velasquez conjures the sounds of the Mexican desert.
March 1, 2012, midnight
S5E17 - Laura Gibson
Her gorgeous, whispery voice inspired the Tiny Desk Concerts series in 2008. Now, Laura Gibson returns with her band to perform four songs from her new album, La Grande.
March 5, 2012, midnight
S5E18 - Rudresh Mahanthappa
The saxophonist's new repertoire salutes electric funk, South Indian modes and swarming solos.
March 8, 2012, midnight
S5E19 - Real Estate
Real Estate wears placidity well: It's a band born and bred to convey and celebrate laconic comfort.
March 12, 2012, midnight
S5E20 - Kayhan Kalhor
A soulful master musician from Iran, Kalhor performs a beautiful improvisation at the NPR offices.
March 24, 2012, midnight
S5E21 - First Aid Kit
Sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg make charming, folk-infused pop music that lulls and enchants.
March 28, 2012, midnight
S5E22 - So Percussion
The ensemble employs all kinds of toys, from an amplified cactus to a mug filled with spare change.
April 2, 2012, midnight
S5E23 - Kathleen Edwards
The Canadian singer performs four sweet, warm, relatable songs that soothe as they nourish.
April 5, 2012, midnight
S5E24 - Caveman
Caveman writes guitar-based pop songs full of space and melodies you can carry around in your head.
April 10, 2012, midnight
S5E25 - Novalima
At the NPR offices, the band plays in a lean, funky configuration that gets the room grooving along.
April 12, 2012, midnight
S5E26 - Soweto Gospel Choir
The group fuses the music of many Christian cultures, with nods to African songs of celebration.
April 16, 2012, midnight
S5E27 - Jolie Holland
Holland plays songs with an unadorned tone that makes the voice and lyrics all the more touching.
April 23, 2012, midnight
S5E28 - Cowboy Junkies
The venerable band sounds as poignant and tender as ever in this performance at the NPR offices.
April 26, 2012, midnight
S5E29 - Hospitality
The group doesn't overwhelm so much as it wears listeners down with a subtle charm offensive.
April 30, 2012, midnight
S5E30 - Nathan Salsburg
The guitarist displays intricate fingerpicking in two songs inspired by Kentucky Derby racehorses.
May 3, 2012, midnight
S5E31 - Endangered Blood
The jazz quartet draws from post-bop, 20th-century chromaticism and New Orleans funeral marches.
May 7, 2012, midnight
S5E32 - Kishi Bashi
K Ishibashi is a master at building songs from live violin loops, layered singing and beatboxing.
May 10, 2012, midnight
S5E33 - Pedro Soler And Gaspar Claus
The improvisational music of the father-son, guitar-cello duo functions as a beautiful conversation.
May 14, 2012, midnight
S5E34 - Chuck Brown
The Godfather of Go-Go died Wednesday. In 2010, he brought his full band to the NPR Music office.
May 16, 2012, midnight
S5E35 - Arborea
Rooted in acoustic traditions, the music of Arborea stands out for its calm beauty and rough edges.
May 17, 2012, midnight
S5E36 - Yann Tiersen
Tiersen's rich, liltingly eccentric pop music is constructed from lots of sweet, intricate pieces.
May 21, 2012, midnight
S5E37 - Canadian Brass
The venerable brass quintet sports virtuosic, fresh-faced players in tried-and-true repertoire.
May 26, 2012, midnight
S5E38 - Patrick Watson
Watson has a lovely voice and a gift for wringing evocative sounds out of everything he touches.
May 31, 2012, midnight
S5E39 - Kelly Hogan
The unflappable singer performs three songs with seeming effortlessness and easygoing charm.
June 4, 2012, midnight
S5E40 - Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom
The drummer dedicates tunes to her friends, including her first teacher — a "sometimes great guy."
June 7, 2012, midnight
S5E41 - Daniel Johnston
Watch three songs by a troubled soul with a talent for writing honest, disarmingly direct music.
June 11, 2012, midnight
S5E42 - Glen Hansard
Hansard flexes his neck muscles a bit as he performs new songs and deep cuts at the NPR offices.
June 17, 2012, midnight
S5E43 - Mariachi El Bronx
The band plays with just the right mixture of passion and pathos in a fun set at the NPR offices.
June 21, 2012, midnight
S5E44 - Reggie Watts
The comedian and musician performs spontaneous improvisations full of killer grooves and humor.
June 25, 2012, midnight
S5E45 - Exitmusic
The band plays a beautifully buzzing, nuanced set, marked by gorgeous grace and stirring melodies.
July 2, 2012, midnight
S5E46 - Brandi Carlile
At the NPR offices, Carlile and her band sing from-the-gut songs about messy lives, loudly lived.
July 9, 2012, midnight
S5E47 - Laura Marling
Two songs from A Creature I Don't Know bookend a gorgeous new, unreleased song called "Once."
July 12, 2012, midnight
S5E48 - Souad Massi
A soulful yet steely singer-songwriter from Algeria charts her own course in these four songs.
July 15, 2012, midnight
S5E49 - The Milk Carton Kids
Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale sing sweet but intricate folk-pop songs in the NPR offices.
July 16, 2012, midnight
S5E50 - Janet Feder
Feder marries classical and folk techniques with otherworldly guitar textures and sounds.
July 22, 2012, midnight
S5E51 - The Walkmen
The band makes the Tiny Desk accommodate its booming sound rather than the other way around.
July 29, 2012, midnight
S5E52 - Beth Orton
Known for mixing folk and electronics, Orton unveils three new songs with just an acoustic guitar.
Aug. 6, 2012, midnight
S5E53 - The Zombies
Two surviving members of the band still have the same chemistry here in a stripped-down performance.
Aug. 12, 2012, midnight
S5E54 - Rufus Wainwright
By the middle of Wainwright's final song, "Montauk," few dry eyes remained in the NPR offices.
Aug. 20, 2012, midnight
S5E55 - Renaud Garcia-Fons
Watch the renowned double bassist thump, strum and loop his way through three mesmerizing songs.
Aug. 27, 2012, midnight
S5E56 - Avi Avital
Avital's mandolin sings with the sounds of Ernest Bloch and a raucous Bulgarian folk tune.
Sept. 10, 2012, midnight
S5E57 - Amanda Palmer And The Grand Theft Orchestra
These songs' fervor is the product of a singer armed with intensity and musicians who can match it.
Sept. 17, 2012, midnight
S5E58 - Yva Las Vegass
Watch Las Vegass bring a punk aesthetic to Venezuelan folk music with a cuatro at the NPR offices.
Sept. 24, 2012, midnight
S5E59 - Kat Edmonson
Hearing the 29-year-old singer makes it virtually impossible to do anything but stop and listen.
Oct. 1, 2012, midnight
S5E60 - Antibalas
It's one thing for 11 musicians to make a big sound, but what stands out is Antibalas' subtlety.
Oct. 4, 2012, midnight
S5E61 - Spirit Family Reunion
The group plays fiddle, banjo, guitar and washboard, all gathered around a single microphone.
Oct. 8, 2012, midnight
S5E62 - Dirty Three
The band unleashes a gorgeous flurry of shambolic rumbling, prolific hairiness and dramatic yelling.
Oct. 15, 2012, midnight
S5E63 - Robert Cray Band
Like any great blues singer, Cray makes heartache and dysfunction sound engaging and relatable.
Oct. 22, 2012, midnight
S5E64 - Lord Huron
The band's rich harmonies are welcoming, its lyrics relatable and its live performances thrilling.
Oct. 25, 2012, midnight
S5E65 - Passion Pit
Michael Angelakos makes electro-pop with monster hooks. But his songs are sturdy, versatile things.
Oct. 29, 2012, midnight
S5E66 - Jason Lytle
The longtime frontman for Grandaddy goes it alone with acoustic solo songs from his latest record.
Nov. 5, 2012, midnight
S5E67 - Flaco Jimenez
The conjunto icon spins magic, and stays true to tradition, with his trademark button accordion.
Nov. 12, 2012, midnight
S5E68 - Ben Gibbard
For Tiny Desk Concert No. 250, the Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service singer performs solo.
Nov. 19, 2012, midnight
S5E69 - Martha Wainwright
Wainwright roughs up life's smooth spots, then digs her fingertips into the cracks that form.
Nov. 26, 2012, midnight
S5E70 - Taken By Trees
Victoria Bergsman's songs seem to come from a place somewhere between a dream state and waking life.
Nov. 29, 2012, midnight
S5E71 - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
The Seattle duo literally shakes the dust off the ceiling tiles at the NPR Music offices.
Dec. 3, 2012, midnight
S5E72 - Anaïs Mitchell
The singer-songwriter performs three of Young Man in America's most bracingly beautiful songs.
Dec. 6, 2012, midnight
S5E73 - Daniel Bachman
Once the acoustic guitarist zeroes in on the center of a song, it's easy to get lost in it yourself.
Dec. 9, 2012, midnight
S5E74 - Lyle Lovett
Lovett gives a loose, engaging performance that feels like both an introduction and a victory lap.
Dec. 10, 2012, midnight
S5E75 - Alt-J
The Mercury Prize-winning band plays angular, poetic, inventive music that takes unexpected turns.
Dec. 17, 2012, midnight
S5E76 - The Polyphonic Spree
The sprawling group, 17 strong, squeezes behind Bob Boilen's desk for a special holiday performance.
Dec. 21, 2012, midnight
S5E77 - Miguel
Performing at the NPR Music offices, Miguel strips his highly produced hits down to their bones.
Dec. 31, 2012, midnight
Network: NPR
Episode Runtime: 14 min.
Season Runtime: 20 min.
Released: April 22, 2008
Last Air Date: June 2, 2025, midnight
Status: Returning Series
Certification: NR
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