NPR Tiny Desk Concerts
Season 2013
201368 episodes
Episode 1
Lucius
Jan 7, 2013
One minute, Lucius sounds like a '60s girl group; the next might conjure images of Emmylou Harris.
Episode 2
Black Prairie
Jan 14, 2013
With members of The Decemberists, the band lends a snappy, lilting quality to songs of alienation.
Episode 3
Of Montreal
Jan 28, 2013
Frontman Kevin Barnes uses the intimacy of the NPR Music offices to try out some quiet new material.
Episode 4
Cantus
Feb 4, 2013
The a cappella ensemble sings widely divergent songs from American, European and Sufi traditions.
Episode 5
The xx
Feb 11, 2013
In The xx's songs, all the calm chilliness in the world can't quite contain an exposed heart.
Episode 6
Night Beds
Feb 18, 2013
Winston Yellen's arresting voice propels a lighthearted but deeply affecting set at the NPR office.
Episode 7
Mary Halvorson Quintet
Feb 25, 2013
The guitarist brings a decidedly non-standard approach to jazz's standard practices.
Episode 8
The Lone Bellow
Mar 4, 2013
The fast-rising Brooklyn trio sings beautiful, heartfelt, impeccably harmonized folk-pop songs.
Episode 9
Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill
Mar 11, 2013
Watch one of the best fiddlers on the planet and a subtle guitar master work their magic.
Episode 10
Efterklang
Apr 8, 2013
The Danish band ransacks the NPR Music offices looking for sound-making material and new ideas.
Episode 11
Yo La Tengo
Apr 15, 2013
To coincide with the release of the band's 13th album, Fade, Yo La Tengo performs an acoustic set.
Episode 12
Omar Sosa & Paolo Fresu
Apr 22, 2013
The duo's quietly energetic performance hangs over the the NPR Music offices like a soft mist.
Episode 13
Father Figures
Apr 29, 2013
Zany, brainy and danceable, these guys' music mixes rock and jazz like King Crimson at its fiercest.
Episode 14
Nicola Benedetti
May 6, 2013
Watch the violinist spin out music by John Williams and Bach in sweet, soulful tendrils of sound.
Episode 15
Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale
May 13, 2013
The veteran country players mix corny humor, musical merrymaking and timeless vocal harmonies.
Episode 16
Mohammad Reza Shajarian
May 20, 2013
The 73-year-old Iranian icon unleashes torrents of swooping, soaring sound that elicit goosebumps.
Episode 17
Imani Winds
May 29, 2013
Imani Winds' members shrink Igor Stravinsky down to size in a quintet take on The Rite of Spring.
Episode 18
OK Go
Jun 3, 2013
OK Go helps us transport the Tiny Desk from NPR Music's old headquarters to our new facility.
Episode 19
The National
Jun 10, 2013
Watch the band perform acoustic arrangements of four songs from its new album, Trouble Will Find Me.
Episode 20
NO BS! Brass Band
Jun 15, 2013
An 11-piece brass band turns up the funk and flies the flag high for its native Richmond, Va.
Episode 21
Billy Bragg
Jun 17, 2013
One of the world's finest folksingers channels the spirit of Woody Guthrie at the NPR Music offices.
Episode 22
Patty Griffin
Jun 24, 2013
Watch the singer-songwriter and her band perform three songs from her fine new album, American Kid.
Episode 23
Maya Beiser
Jun 29, 2013
A brilliant cellist with a stunning command of her instrument, Beiser performs at the NPR offices.
Episode 24
Laura Mvula
Jul 1, 2013
The U.K. singer performs some of her most intimate material in a short set at the NPR Music offices.
Episode 25
Cheick Hamala Diabate
Jul 6, 2013
The Malian musician and his band craft melodies and rhythms that cut across age and ethnicity.
Episode 26
Skinny Lister
Jul 8, 2013
The rowdy English folk-punk band brings its barely controlled mayhem to the NPR Music offices.
Episode 27
Frank Turner
Jul 13, 2013
Two men with unplugged instruments convey the bawdy rowdiness of a full band.
Episode 28
Alice Russell
Jul 15, 2013
When the British singer performs, her emotionally fiery music just gets hotter and grittier.
Episode 29
Cheyenne Mize
Jul 20, 2013
The singer, instrumentalist and music therapist plays slinky, forceful songs at NPR Music.
Episode 30
Guards
Jul 22, 2013
Hear three sturdy pop songs from In Guards We Trust, performed live at the NPR Music offices.
Episode 31
Time For Three
Jul 27, 2013
Hear the "classically trained garage band" perform with staggering technique and contagious energy.
Episode 32
Dana Falconberry
Jul 29, 2013
Watch Falconberry and five bandmates perform three delicate songs from her recent album Leelanau.
Episode 33
Keaton Henson
Aug 3, 201314m
Henson's voice is so fragile and hushed, if you were 10 feet away from him you'd barely hear a peep.
Episode 34
Jim Guthrie
Aug 10, 2013
Guthrie and his band drove 18 hours round-trip from Ontario to perform three songs for NPR Music.
Episode 35
Alpine
Aug 12, 2013
The Australian sextet crafts busily impeccable, harmony-intensive pop music with a danceable sway.
Episode 36
Mother Falcon
Aug 17, 2013
The 17-member chamber-rock collective uses its size in the service of great, snappy, stirring songs.
Episode 37
The Front Bottoms
Aug 19, 2013
The community that's formed around The Front Bottoms speaks to the band's passion and compassion.
Episode 38
Buika
Aug 26, 2013
Concha Buika's voice comes from Africa and the past. Watch her perform in the NPR Music offices.
Episode 39
Steve Gunn
Aug 31, 2013
Watch Gunn's trio perform a set of hypnotic long-form jams that are perfect for taking it easy.
Episode 40
Baths
Sep 4, 2013
Watch Baths' Will Wiesenfeld perform mysterious, textured electronic music in the NPR offices.
Episode 41
Bombino
Sep 7, 2013
For our 300th Tiny Desk Concert, we showcase a Tuareg guitarist's fierce, hypnotic, alluring jams.
Episode 42
The 1975
Sep 10, 2013
Performing solo, singer Matthew Healy doesn't hesitate to transform both his songs and himself.
Episode 43
Arturo O'Farrill
Sep 14, 2013
With an eye on both the past and the future, O'Farrill has jazz and Afro-Cuban music in his DNA.
Episode 44
Shovels & Rope
Sep 16, 2013
The husband-and-wife duo mixes rowdy folk-rock and rootsy ballads, with the help of a canine friend.
Episode 45
The Cristina Pato Trio
Sep 21, 2013
A Galician bagpiper and her trio take Celtic sounds in an entirely wild and wonderful direction.
Episode 46
Hem
Sep 28, 2013
Hem makes a homey, fireside kind of music, with songs that feel as if they've always been there.
Episode 47
Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi
Sep 30, 2013
The Zimbabwean legend performs songs from the mournful but celebratory Sarawoga for NPR Music.
Episode 48
Lawrence Brownlee
Oct 5, 2013
The operatic tenor, acclaimed for his Rossini, circles back to his roots as a singer of spirituals.
Episode 49
Superchunk
Oct 7, 2013
Watch the venerable band translate its electric sound to acoustic instruments in an intimate way.
Episode 50
Valerie June
Oct 12, 2013
Short of seeing her live and in person, this is the best way to encounter June's heartfelt sound.
Episode 51
Okkervil River
Oct 15, 2013
The band performs three songs from a record inspired by the childhood of singer Will Sheff.
Episode 52
Matt Ulery's Loom
Oct 19, 2013
The bassist composes beautiful, unpretentious music for an unusual jazz band with accordion.
Episode 53
Daughter
Oct 21, 2013
Pretty and melancholy, the Londoners' music conjures a perfect mix of gloom, desire and hostility.
Episode 54
Typhoon
Oct 26, 2013
The dozen members of this Portland, Ore. band crammed behind the Tiny Desk for a transcendent set.
Episode 55
San Fermin
Oct 28, 2013
The orchestral folk-pop band's little song-worlds burst with ambition, talent and extreme joy.
Episode 56
Neko Case
Oct 31, 2013
Watch a Halloween Tiny Desk Concert in which Case performs with Kelly Hogan and Eric Bachmann.
Episode 57
Ashley Monroe
Nov 3, 2013
This three-song set in the NPR Music offices captures a nice cross-section of Monroe's appeal.
Episode 58
Gary Burton
Nov 9, 2013
The jazz vibraphone pioneer is 70 now, but that hasn't slowed his flying four-mallet technique.
Episode 59
Debashish Bhattacharya
Nov 12, 2013
Bhattacharya draws on North Indian classical music, but blues also pours out of his stunning work.
Episode 60
John Legend
Nov 16, 2013
The soul singer retains the easygoing grace of a performer fit for any stage — even a tiny one.
Episode 61
Waxahatchee
Nov 23, 2013
This is Katie Crutchfield as Waxahatchee, playing intimate music for an intimate setting.
Episode 62
Kronos Quartet
Nov 25, 2013
The intrepid champions of new music bring a lullaby, rare blues and a work by Bryce Dessner to NPR.
Episode 63
The Dismemberment Plan
Dec 2, 2013
The band exudes playfulness and wry charm throughout these three songs from Uncanney Valley.
Episode 64
Sarah Jarosz
Dec 7, 2013
Jarosz and her small backing band craft a careful mix of technical proficiency and poppy warmth.
Episode 65
Dessa
Dec 9, 2013
The whip-smart rapper, singer, poet and songwriter performs three tracks from Parts of Speech.
Episode 66
Christine Salem
Dec 14, 2013
Salem sings work songs and chants from the maloya tradition on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
Episode 67
La Santa Cecilia
Dec 16, 2013
The video here provides just a hint of the L.A. band's dynamic live shows, albeit a spectacular one.
Episode 68
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Dec 21, 2013
The hot and historic New Orleans band brings a tuba-wielding Santa and some original holiday cheer.