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NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

Season 2014 2014
NR

  • 2014-01-04T05:00:00Z on NPR
  • 14m
  • 19h 50m (85 episodes)
  • United States
  • English
Intimate musical performances, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

85 episodes

Season Premiere

2014-01-04T05:00:00Z

2014x01 Van-Anh Vanessa Vo

Season Premiere

2014x01 Van-Anh Vanessa Vo

  • 2014-01-04T05:00:00Z14m

The musician unpacks an array of traditional Vietnamese instruments — and 1,000 years of culture.

2014-01-07T05:00:00Z

2014x02 Lily & Madeleine

2014x02 Lily & Madeleine

  • 2014-01-07T05:00:00Z14m

The teenagers play a restrained, homespun mix of folk and pop with undeniably sweet harmonies.

2014-01-13T05:00:00Z

2014x03 Afro Blue

2014x03 Afro Blue

  • 2014-01-13T05:00:00Z14m

The Howard University vocal jazz ensemble performs beautiful African-American spirituals.

2014x04 Robert Glasper Experiment

  • 2014-01-20T05:00:00Z14m

Members of the Grammy-winning, organic R&B Experiment band jam with singer Marsha Ambrosius.

2014-01-27T05:00:00Z

2014x05 Angel Olsen

2014x05 Angel Olsen

  • 2014-01-27T05:00:00Z14m

The expressive, powerful singer previews songs from her new album, Burn Your Fire for No Witness.

2014-02-03T05:00:00Z

2014x06 Pixies

2014x06 Pixies

  • 2014-02-03T05:00:00Z14m

Hear the legendary band perform 1989's "Monkey Gone to Heaven" and two new songs — one unreleased.

2014-02-08T05:00:00Z

2014x07 Fanfare Ciocarlia

2014x07 Fanfare Ciocarlia

  • 2014-02-08T05:00:00Z14m

The joyous Balkan brass band plays at a pace that would make the Ramones burst into a sweat.

2014-02-10T05:00:00Z

2014x08 Suzanne Vega

2014x08 Suzanne Vega

  • 2014-02-10T05:00:00Z14m

The inventive folk-music veteran book-ends a four-song set with her hits "Luka" and "Tom's Diner."

2014-02-18T05:00:00Z

2014x09 Cate Le Bon

2014x09 Cate Le Bon

  • 2014-02-18T05:00:00Z14m

The Welsh singer's set conveys loneliness and doubt with just two guitars and an inviting whisper.

2014-02-22T05:00:00Z

2014x10 Sofia Rei

2014x10 Sofia Rei

  • 2014-02-22T05:00:00Z14m

For about 20 minutes one sunny afternoon, Rei turned a desk into a small Latin American folk club.

2014-02-24T05:00:00Z

2014x11 Brass Bed

2014x11 Brass Bed

  • 2014-02-24T05:00:00Z14m

See the band re-create some of its stellar studio effects with a pedal steel and some novelty mics.

2014-03-02T05:00:00Z

2014x12 Asaf Avidan

2014x12 Asaf Avidan

  • 2014-03-02T05:00:00Z14m

Avidan has an album and no U.S. record label to put it out. But he's on a solo tour that's stunning.

2014-03-06T05:00:00Z

2014x13 Lowland Hum

2014x13 Lowland Hum

  • 2014-03-06T05:00:00Z14m

It's hard to convey the sound of two people in love, but Lowland Hum does that effortlessly.

2014-03-10T04:00:00Z

2014x14 Jake Bugg

2014x14 Jake Bugg

  • 2014-03-10T04:00:00Z14m

Watch the 20-year-old English singer-songwriter, who has worked with superproducer Rick Rubin.

2014-03-17T04:00:00Z

2014x15 Diane Cluck

2014x15 Diane Cluck

  • 2014-03-17T04:00:00Z14m

On record, Cluck's elastic voice and fingerpicking are impressive. Live, they jam the senses.

2014-03-24T04:00:00Z

2014x16 Joseph Calleja

2014x16 Joseph Calleja

  • 2014-03-24T04:00:00Z14m

All the world's top opera houses want the young tenor with the old-school approach.

2014-03-31T04:00:00Z

2014x17 The Haden Triplets

2014x17 The Haden Triplets

  • 2014-03-31T04:00:00Z14m

When the sisters cover classic country music together, the result is a treat and a trip in time.

2014-04-07T04:00:00Z

2014x18 The Both

2014x18 The Both

  • 2014-04-07T04:00:00Z14m

Singer-songwriters Aimee Mann and Ted Leo unite from opposite ends of the volume knob.

2014-04-12T04:00:00Z

2014x19 Tom Brosseau

2014x19 Tom Brosseau

  • 2014-04-12T04:00:00Z14m

The North Dakota singer-songwriter possesses one of the most arresting voices in folk music today.

2014-04-14T04:00:00Z

2014x20 Courtney Barnett

2014x20 Courtney Barnett

  • 2014-04-14T04:00:00Z14m

Barnett tells stories like your best friend, provided your best friend is a funny Australian poet.

2014-04-19T04:00:00Z

2014x21 Usman Riaz

2014x21 Usman Riaz

  • 2014-04-19T04:00:00Z14m

A young Pakistani musician treats the guitar as percussion — with surprisingly shimmering results.

2014-04-21T04:00:00Z

2014x22 Federico Aubele

2014x22 Federico Aubele

  • 2014-04-21T04:00:00Z14m

The Argentine singer uses his dark, husky voice to produce a specific effect in these three songs.

2014-04-26T04:00:00Z

2014x23 Quilt

2014x23 Quilt

  • 2014-04-26T04:00:00Z14m

Interweaving harmonies and guitar lines set the tone for these soft, benevolent, dreamy songs.

2014-04-28T04:00:00Z

2014x24 Johnnyswim

2014x24 Johnnyswim

  • 2014-04-28T04:00:00Z14m

Impossibly telegenic and charming, the band mixes booming intensity with polish and sparkle.

2014-05-03T04:00:00Z

2014x25 Cian Nugent

2014x25 Cian Nugent

  • 2014-05-03T04:00:00Z14m

The Dublin guitarist runs through a ragtime jaunt, a basement-bar choogle and a sad-sack closer.

2014x26 Public Service Broadcasting

  • 2014-05-05T04:00:00Z14m

The duo's sample-laden instrumental music is entertainment as education for the head and feet alike.

2014-05-10T04:00:00Z

2014x27 Timber Timbre

2014x27 Timber Timbre

  • 2014-05-10T04:00:00Z14m

See the swamp-folk band play a characteristically eerie and mysterious set in the NPR Music offices.

2014-05-12T04:00:00Z

2014x28 Chvrches

2014x28 Chvrches

  • 2014-05-12T04:00:00Z14m

The Scottish synth-pop band turns up with a small arsenal of synthesizers to perform three songs.

2014-05-17T04:00:00Z

2014x29 Iestyn Davies

2014x29 Iestyn Davies

  • 2014-05-17T04:00:00Z14m

See the countertenor and lutenist Thomas Dunford perform John Dowland's melancholy songs.

2014-05-20T04:00:00Z

2014x30 Ages And Ages

2014x30 Ages And Ages

  • 2014-05-20T04:00:00Z14m

The band makes the kind of music that can at least briefly restore your faith in humanity.

2014-05-24T04:00:00Z

2014x31 Yasmine Hamdan

2014x31 Yasmine Hamdan

  • 2014-05-24T04:00:00Z14m

The Lebanese singer-songwriter is one of the most groundbreaking musicians in the Middle East.

2014-05-27T04:00:00Z

2014x32 Hozier

2014x32 Hozier

  • 2014-05-27T04:00:00Z14m

Andrew Hozier-Byrne wraps his rich, vital, soulful voice around songs rooted in the blues.

2014-05-31T04:00:00Z

2014x33 Juana Molina

2014x33 Juana Molina

  • 2014-05-31T04:00:00Z14m

Molina sounds as if she'd been raised by wolves and discovered the world of music on her own.

2014-06-02T04:00:00Z

2014x34 Simone Dinnerstein

2014x34 Simone Dinnerstein

  • 2014-06-02T04:00:00Z14m

Watch the celebrated pianist make Bach's Two-part Inventions sing and zing.

2014-06-07T04:00:00Z

2014x35 Marian McLaughlin

2014x35 Marian McLaughlin

  • 2014-06-07T04:00:00Z14m

A quirky and wistful performer with a string section, McLaughlin makes music like few others.

2014x36 Eliot Fisk And Paco Peña

  • 2014-06-14T04:00:00Z14m

A classical virtuoso and an equally captivating flamenco player combine for a set of duets.

2014-06-16T04:00:00Z

2014x37 Rodney Crowell

2014x37 Rodney Crowell

  • 2014-06-16T04:00:00Z14m

The country singer-songwriter performs with the ease and swagger of a man comfortable in his ways.

2014-06-21T04:00:00Z

2014x38 Mali Music

2014x38 Mali Music

  • 2014-06-21T04:00:00Z14m

The singer-songwriter and musician performs with unabashed positivity and an uplifting spirit.

2014-06-23T04:00:00Z

2014x39 Conor Oberst

2014x39 Conor Oberst

  • 2014-06-23T04:00:00Z14m

The Bright Eyes singer performs songs from Upside Down Mountain with help from members of Dawes.

2014-06-28T04:00:00Z

2014x40 Tracy Silverman

2014x40 Tracy Silverman

  • 2014-06-28T04:00:00Z14m

See the innovative player create waves of sound with a six-string violin.

2014-07-01T04:00:00Z

2014x41 Lydia Loveless

2014x41 Lydia Loveless

  • 2014-07-01T04:00:00Z14m

The 23-year-old singer-guitarist performs gritty, countrified blues-rock in the NPR Music offices.

2014-07-05T04:00:00Z

2014x42 The Foreign Exchange

2014x42 The Foreign Exchange

  • 2014-07-05T04:00:00Z14m

Watch the Tiny Desk turn into a church, comedy club and neo-soul spot.

2014-07-07T04:00:00Z

2014x43 Moon Hooch

2014x43 Moon Hooch

  • 2014-07-07T04:00:00Z14m

They call what they make "cave music" — but it's just as powerful at the Tiny Desk.

2014-07-13T04:00:00Z

2014x44 John Grant

2014x44 John Grant

  • 2014-07-13T04:00:00Z14m

Grant's songs don't mess around, with lyrics that function as darts of retort and thought.

2014-07-14T04:00:00Z

2014x45 Holly Williams

2014x45 Holly Williams

  • 2014-07-14T04:00:00Z14m

The singer has a magnificent way with phrasing, not to mention a remarkable country-music lineage.

2014-07-19T04:00:00Z

2014x46 Marisa Anderson

2014x46 Marisa Anderson

  • 2014-07-19T04:00:00Z14m

The guitarist kicks up some dirt with a Rev. Gary Davis deconstruction and a Stratocaster hoedown.

2014-07-21T04:00:00Z

2014x47 Hamilton Leithauser

2014x47 Hamilton Leithauser

  • 2014-07-21T04:00:00Z14m

In this three-song set, the Walkmen singer demonstrates that he's lost none of his vocal power.

2014-07-25T04:00:00Z

2014x48 Highasakite

2014x48 Highasakite

  • 2014-07-25T04:00:00Z14m

Watch an atmospheric Norwegian band with a yearning sound. Also: See a flugabone!

2014-07-29T04:00:00Z

2014x49 Saintseneca

2014x49 Saintseneca

  • 2014-07-29T04:00:00Z14m

In the NPR offices, the Ohio band plays three alternately brooding and stomping songs from Dark Arc.

2014-08-02T04:00:00Z

2014x50 Quetzal

2014x50 Quetzal

  • 2014-08-02T04:00:00Z14m

The veteran East L.A. band's music penetrates the intellect even as it makes your hips sway.

2014-08-04T04:00:00Z

2014x51 The Family Crest

2014x51 The Family Crest

  • 2014-08-04T04:00:00Z14m

The band's seven players are trained in classical and jazz, led by Liam McCormick's powerful voice.

2014-08-09T04:00:00Z

2014x52 Irene Diaz

2014x52 Irene Diaz

  • 2014-08-09T04:00:00Z14m

With Carolyn Cardoza, Diaz conjures a place where emotions run deep and beauty is unmistakable.

2014-08-11T04:00:00Z

2014x53 Bob Mould

2014x53 Bob Mould

  • 2014-08-11T04:00:00Z14m

The former Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman plugs in for a characteristically loud four-song set.

2014-08-16T04:00:00Z

2014x54 Ernest Ranglin

2014x54 Ernest Ranglin

  • 2014-08-16T04:00:00Z14m

Watch a talented, charming guitar legend make magic as his band Avila holds down the beat.

2014-08-18T04:00:00Z

2014x55 Pacifica Quartet

2014x55 Pacifica Quartet

  • 2014-08-18T04:00:00Z14m

Watch the group play selections from Shostakovich's cycle of introspective string quartets.

2014-08-23T04:00:00Z

2014x56 Rodrigo Amarante

2014x56 Rodrigo Amarante

  • 2014-08-23T04:00:00Z14m

A veteran of Little Joy and Los Hermanos, Amarante makes warm, tender music as a solo artist.

2014-08-26T04:00:00Z

2014x57 Nickel Creek

2014x57 Nickel Creek

  • 2014-08-26T04:00:00Z14m

The band was made to sing and play around one microphone, so a Tiny Desk Concert seemed inevitable.

2014-08-30T04:00:00Z

2014x58 Sturgill Simpson

2014x58 Sturgill Simpson

  • 2014-08-30T04:00:00Z14m

The Kentucky native writes country songs about loneliness, failed dreams, drinking and drugs.

2014-09-03T04:00:00Z

2014x59 Trampled By Turtles

2014x59 Trampled By Turtles

  • 2014-09-03T04:00:00Z14m

Known for the speed of their playing, the Minnesotans are about more than just blistering bluegrass.

2014-09-06T04:00:00Z

2014x60 Jessica Lea Mayfield

2014x60 Jessica Lea Mayfield

  • 2014-09-06T04:00:00Z14m

Mayfield's music has gotten more beguiling as she explores the many contrasts in her hypnotic sound.

2014-09-08T04:00:00Z

2014x61 Justin Townes Earle

2014x61 Justin Townes Earle

  • 2014-09-08T04:00:00Z14m

In advance of his new album Single Mothers, the singer performs two new songs and an old favorite.

2014-09-15T04:00:00Z

2014x62 Luluc

2014x62 Luluc

  • 2014-09-15T04:00:00Z14m

Graceful singing and storytelling meet guitars and textures that help create an unforgettable aura.

2014-09-22T04:00:00Z

2014x63 Tweedy

2014x63 Tweedy

  • 2014-09-22T04:00:00Z14m

With his drummer son Spencer, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy performs songs from their new album, Sukierae.

2014-09-29T04:00:00Z

2014x64 Bio Ritmo

2014x64 Bio Ritmo

  • 2014-09-29T04:00:00Z14m

The 10-piece salsa band built its career on dance floors, where it never fails to make people move.

2014x65 Ryan Keberle & Catharsis

  • 2014-10-04T04:00:00Z14m

The trombonist's working band established some nifty swing, assisted in absentia by Sufjan Stevens.

2014-10-06T04:00:00Z

2014x66 Jackson Browne

2014x66 Jackson Browne

  • 2014-10-06T04:00:00Z14m

Browne still writes songs with conviction, craftsmanship and careful attention to detail.

2014-10-11T04:00:00Z

2014x67 Raquel Sofia

2014x67 Raquel Sofia

  • 2014-10-11T04:00:00Z14m

Sofia has spent most of her career 20 feet from stardom as a backup singer for Juanes and Shakira.

2014-10-14T04:00:00Z

2014x68 The Bots

2014x68 The Bots

  • 2014-10-14T04:00:00Z14m

The band plays with a great rock-duo punch that recalls The White Stripes or JEFF The Brotherhood.

2014-10-18T04:00:00Z

2014x69 Ásgeir

2014x69 Ásgeir

  • 2014-10-18T04:00:00Z14m

The Icelandic singer's voice is angelic and yearning, his songs simple and universal.

2014-10-20T04:00:00Z

2014x70 Anthony D'Amato

2014x70 Anthony D'Amato

  • 2014-10-20T04:00:00Z14m

D'Amato's music can feel Motown-y, garage-y and Springsteen-y, but he sounds sparer here.

2014-10-25T04:00:00Z

2014x71 Danish String Quartet

2014x71 Danish String Quartet

  • 2014-10-25T04:00:00Z14m

Watch the young, versatile ensemble play folk music from around Denmark and beyond.

2014-10-29T04:00:00Z

2014x72 T-Pain

2014x72 T-Pain

  • 2014-10-29T04:00:00Z14m

We asked the King of Auto-Tune to grace the Tiny Desk without any embellishment or effects.

2014-10-30T04:00:00Z

2014x73 Banks

2014x73 Banks

  • 2014-10-30T04:00:00Z14m

Known for lavish electronic productions, Banks serves notice as a powerful singer in her own right.

2014-10-31T04:00:00Z

2014x74 Sun Ra Arkestra

2014x74 Sun Ra Arkestra

  • 2014-10-31T04:00:00Z14m

With costumes inspired by Egyptian symbolism and sci-fi, Ra's band plays a special Halloween set.

2014-11-08T05:00:00Z

2014x75 Making Movies

2014x75 Making Movies

  • 2014-11-08T05:00:00Z14m

A rousing band from Kansas City, Making Movies mixes languages and eras with infectious energy.

2014-11-10T05:00:00Z

2014x76 Roomful Of Teeth

2014x76 Roomful Of Teeth

  • 2014-11-10T05:00:00Z14m

Watch the group sing new music with yelps, yodels and a few fine harmonies.

2014-11-15T05:00:00Z

2014x77 Davíd Garza

2014x77 Davíd Garza

  • 2014-11-15T05:00:00Z14m

The Austin singer-songwriter joins his stunning voice with that of touring partner Gaby Moreno.

2014-11-22T05:00:00Z

2014x78 J Mascis

2014x78 J Mascis

  • 2014-11-22T05:00:00Z14m

The Dinosaur Jr. frontman, one of the world's loudest musicians, performs unplugged and acoustic.

2014x79 Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo

  • 2014-11-24T05:00:00Z14m

Benatar and Giraldo play three classics: "We Live For Love," "We Belong" and "Promises In The Dark."

2014x80 Sam Amidon & Bill Frisell

  • 2014-12-01T05:00:00Z14m

Amidon weaves his compositions into traditional music, while Frisell adds atmospheric guitar.

2014-12-04T05:00:00Z

2014x81 Dublin Guitar Quartet

2014x81 Dublin Guitar Quartet

  • 2014-12-04T05:00:00Z14m

Hear the Irish ensemble's fresh take on Philip Glass' propulsive yet intimate string quartets.

The band's got heart and soul and flair, with a well-worn sound buoyed by strong, fresh songwriting.

2014-12-09T05:00:00Z

2014x83 Yusuf/Cat Stevens

2014x83 Yusuf/Cat Stevens

  • 2014-12-09T05:00:00Z14m

The singer performs two new songs, as well as "The First Cut Is the Deepest" and "Father and Son."

2014-12-20T05:00:00Z

2014x84 Lucinda Williams

2014x84 Lucinda Williams

  • 2014-12-20T05:00:00Z14m

She came to the desk a little unsure, and left singing "West Memphis" with intensity and passion.

2014-12-24T05:00:00Z

2014x85 HMSTR

2014x85 HMSTR

  • 2014-12-24T05:00:00Z14m

Watch our favorite hamsters play their twee-as-all-get-out holiday pop-punk song, "Snow Day."

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