Maia Stern
Director
NPR Tiny Desk Concerts (2008)
Season 2013
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
S6E1 - Lucius
One minute, Lucius sounds like a '60s girl group; the next might conjure images of Emmylou Harris.
Jan. 7, 2013, midnight
S6E2 - Black Prairie
With members of The Decemberists, the band lends a snappy, lilting quality to songs of alienation.
Jan. 14, 2013, midnight
S6E3 - Of Montreal
Frontman Kevin Barnes uses the intimacy of the NPR Music offices to try out some quiet new material.
Jan. 28, 2013, midnight
S6E4 - Cantus
The a cappella ensemble sings widely divergent songs from American, European and Sufi traditions.
Feb. 4, 2013, midnight
S6E5 - The xx
In The xx's songs, all the calm chilliness in the world can't quite contain an exposed heart.
Feb. 11, 2013, midnight
S6E6 - Night Beds
Winston Yellen's arresting voice propels a lighthearted but deeply affecting set at the NPR office.
Feb. 18, 2013, midnight
S6E7 - Mary Halvorson Quintet
The guitarist brings a decidedly non-standard approach to jazz's standard practices.
Feb. 25, 2013, midnight
S6E8 - The Lone Bellow
The fast-rising Brooklyn trio sings beautiful, heartfelt, impeccably harmonized folk-pop songs.
March 4, 2013, midnight
S6E9 - Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill
Watch one of the best fiddlers on the planet and a subtle guitar master work their magic.
March 11, 2013, midnight
S6E10 - Efterklang
The Danish band ransacks the NPR Music offices looking for sound-making material and new ideas.
April 8, 2013, midnight
S6E11 - Yo La Tengo
To coincide with the release of the band's 13th album, Fade, Yo La Tengo performs an acoustic set.
April 15, 2013, midnight
S6E12 - Omar Sosa & Paolo Fresu
The duo's quietly energetic performance hangs over the the NPR Music offices like a soft mist.
April 22, 2013, midnight
S6E13 - Father Figures
Zany, brainy and danceable, these guys' music mixes rock and jazz like King Crimson at its fiercest.
April 29, 2013, midnight
S6E14 - Nicola Benedetti
Watch the violinist spin out music by John Williams and Bach in sweet, soulful tendrils of sound.
May 6, 2013, midnight
S6E15 - Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale
The veteran country players mix corny humor, musical merrymaking and timeless vocal harmonies.
May 13, 2013, midnight
S6E16 - Mohammad Reza Shajarian
The 73-year-old Iranian icon unleashes torrents of swooping, soaring sound that elicit goosebumps.
May 20, 2013, midnight
S6E17 - Imani Winds
Imani Winds' members shrink Igor Stravinsky down to size in a quintet take on The Rite of Spring.
May 29, 2013, midnight
S6E18 - OK Go
OK Go helps us transport the Tiny Desk from NPR Music's old headquarters to our new facility.
June 3, 2013, midnight
S6E19 - The National
Watch the band perform acoustic arrangements of four songs from its new album, Trouble Will Find Me.
June 10, 2013, midnight
S6E20 - NO BS! Brass Band
An 11-piece brass band turns up the funk and flies the flag high for its native Richmond, Va.
June 15, 2013, midnight
S6E21 - Billy Bragg
One of the world's finest folksingers channels the spirit of Woody Guthrie at the NPR Music offices.
June 17, 2013, midnight
S6E22 - Patty Griffin
Watch the singer-songwriter and her band perform three songs from her fine new album, American Kid.
June 24, 2013, midnight
S6E23 - Maya Beiser
A brilliant cellist with a stunning command of her instrument, Beiser performs at the NPR offices.
June 29, 2013, midnight
S6E24 - Laura Mvula
The U.K. singer performs some of her most intimate material in a short set at the NPR Music offices.
July 1, 2013, midnight
S6E25 - Cheick Hamala Diabate
The Malian musician and his band craft melodies and rhythms that cut across age and ethnicity.
July 6, 2013, midnight
S6E26 - Skinny Lister
The rowdy English folk-punk band brings its barely controlled mayhem to the NPR Music offices.
July 8, 2013, midnight
S6E27 - Frank Turner
Two men with unplugged instruments convey the bawdy rowdiness of a full band.
July 13, 2013, midnight
S6E28 - Alice Russell
When the British singer performs, her emotionally fiery music just gets hotter and grittier.
July 15, 2013, midnight
S6E29 - Cheyenne Mize
The singer, instrumentalist and music therapist plays slinky, forceful songs at NPR Music.
July 20, 2013, midnight
S6E30 - Guards
Hear three sturdy pop songs from In Guards We Trust, performed live at the NPR Music offices.
July 22, 2013, midnight
S6E31 - Time For Three
Hear the "classically trained garage band" perform with staggering technique and contagious energy.
July 27, 2013, midnight
S6E32 - Dana Falconberry
Watch Falconberry and five bandmates perform three delicate songs from her recent album Leelanau.
July 29, 2013, midnight
S6E33 - Keaton Henson
Henson's voice is so fragile and hushed, if you were 10 feet away from him you'd barely hear a peep.
Aug. 3, 2013, midnight
S6E34 - Jim Guthrie
Guthrie and his band drove 18 hours round-trip from Ontario to perform three songs for NPR Music.
Aug. 10, 2013, midnight
S6E35 - Alpine
The Australian sextet crafts busily impeccable, harmony-intensive pop music with a danceable sway.
Aug. 12, 2013, midnight
S6E36 - Mother Falcon
The 17-member chamber-rock collective uses its size in the service of great, snappy, stirring songs.
Aug. 17, 2013, midnight
S6E37 - The Front Bottoms
The community that's formed around The Front Bottoms speaks to the band's passion and compassion.
Aug. 19, 2013, midnight
S6E38 - Buika
Concha Buika's voice comes from Africa and the past. Watch her perform in the NPR Music offices.
Aug. 26, 2013, midnight
S6E39 - Steve Gunn
Watch Gunn's trio perform a set of hypnotic long-form jams that are perfect for taking it easy.
Aug. 31, 2013, midnight
S6E40 - Baths
Watch Baths' Will Wiesenfeld perform mysterious, textured electronic music in the NPR offices.
Sept. 4, 2013, midnight
S6E41 - Bombino
For our 300th Tiny Desk Concert, we showcase a Tuareg guitarist's fierce, hypnotic, alluring jams.
Sept. 7, 2013, midnight
S6E42 - The 1975
Performing solo, singer Matthew Healy doesn't hesitate to transform both his songs and himself.
Sept. 10, 2013, midnight
S6E43 - Arturo O'Farrill
With an eye on both the past and the future, O'Farrill has jazz and Afro-Cuban music in his DNA.
Sept. 14, 2013, midnight
S6E44 - Shovels & Rope
The husband-and-wife duo mixes rowdy folk-rock and rootsy ballads, with the help of a canine friend.
Sept. 16, 2013, midnight
S6E45 - The Cristina Pato Trio
A Galician bagpiper and her trio take Celtic sounds in an entirely wild and wonderful direction.
Sept. 21, 2013, midnight
S6E46 - Hem
Hem makes a homey, fireside kind of music, with songs that feel as if they've always been there.
Sept. 28, 2013, midnight
S6E47 - Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi
The Zimbabwean legend performs songs from the mournful but celebratory Sarawoga for NPR Music.
Sept. 30, 2013, midnight
S6E48 - Lawrence Brownlee
The operatic tenor, acclaimed for his Rossini, circles back to his roots as a singer of spirituals.
Oct. 5, 2013, midnight
S6E49 - Superchunk
Watch the venerable band translate its electric sound to acoustic instruments in an intimate way.
Oct. 7, 2013, midnight
S6E50 - Valerie June
Short of seeing her live and in person, this is the best way to encounter June's heartfelt sound.
Oct. 12, 2013, midnight
S6E51 - Okkervil River
The band performs three songs from a record inspired by the childhood of singer Will Sheff.
Oct. 15, 2013, midnight
S6E52 - Matt Ulery's Loom
The bassist composes beautiful, unpretentious music for an unusual jazz band with accordion.
Oct. 19, 2013, midnight
S6E53 - Daughter
Pretty and melancholy, the Londoners' music conjures a perfect mix of gloom, desire and hostility.
Oct. 21, 2013, midnight
S6E54 - Typhoon
The dozen members of this Portland, Ore. band crammed behind the Tiny Desk for a transcendent set.
Oct. 26, 2013, midnight
S6E55 - San Fermin
The orchestral folk-pop band's little song-worlds burst with ambition, talent and extreme joy.
Oct. 28, 2013, midnight
S6E56 - Neko Case
Watch a Halloween Tiny Desk Concert in which Case performs with Kelly Hogan and Eric Bachmann.
Oct. 31, 2013, midnight
S6E57 - Ashley Monroe
This three-song set in the NPR Music offices captures a nice cross-section of Monroe's appeal.
Nov. 3, 2013, midnight
S6E58 - Gary Burton
The jazz vibraphone pioneer is 70 now, but that hasn't slowed his flying four-mallet technique.
Nov. 9, 2013, midnight
S6E59 - Debashish Bhattacharya
Bhattacharya draws on North Indian classical music, but blues also pours out of his stunning work.
Nov. 12, 2013, midnight
S6E60 - John Legend
The soul singer retains the easygoing grace of a performer fit for any stage — even a tiny one.
Nov. 16, 2013, midnight
S6E61 - Waxahatchee
This is Katie Crutchfield as Waxahatchee, playing intimate music for an intimate setting.
Nov. 23, 2013, midnight
S6E62 - Kronos Quartet
The intrepid champions of new music bring a lullaby, rare blues and a work by Bryce Dessner to NPR.
Nov. 25, 2013, midnight
S6E63 - The Dismemberment Plan
The band exudes playfulness and wry charm throughout these three songs from Uncanney Valley.
Dec. 2, 2013, midnight
S6E64 - Sarah Jarosz
Jarosz and her small backing band craft a careful mix of technical proficiency and poppy warmth.
Dec. 7, 2013, midnight
S6E65 - Dessa
The whip-smart rapper, singer, poet and songwriter performs three tracks from Parts of Speech.
Dec. 9, 2013, midnight
S6E66 - Christine Salem
Salem sings work songs and chants from the maloya tradition on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
Dec. 14, 2013, midnight
S6E67 - La Santa Cecilia
The video here provides just a hint of the L.A. band's dynamic live shows, albeit a spectacular one.
Dec. 16, 2013, midnight
S6E68 - Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The hot and historic New Orleans band brings a tuba-wielding Santa and some original holiday cheer.
Dec. 21, 2013, 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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