NPR Tiny Desk Concerts: Season 2015
Season 8 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts Season 7.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 8 Progress Shield
Trey Anastasio
Jan 5, 2015
The Phish star was in town to put on a huge show, but the songs here feel more personal than that.
Daniel Lanois
Jan 3, 2015
The producer presides over an all-instrumental, free-form trio with Brian Blade and Jim Wilson.
Rubblebucket
Jan 20, 2015
Even without its confetti cannon, the band brings a fun mix of brass and brash to the NPR offices.
Bobby Bare Jr.
Jan 27, 2015
The Nashville singer writes with acidic wit in lines worthy of his old mentor, Shel Silverstein.
John Reilly & Friends
Feb 3, 2015
Reilly sings and plays guitar alongside Tom Brosseau and Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark.
Mucca Pazza
Feb 10, 2015
With 23 members, the performance-art marching band is the biggest ever to play the Tiny Desk.
Until The Ribbon Breaks
Feb 17, 2015
The band strips down its electronic sound with the aid of a spaghetti strainer and a paint bucket.
Zola Jesus
Feb 23, 2015
With her huge voice and an assist on trombone, Nika Roza Danilova offers up a curious combination.
Dan Deacon
Feb 25, 2015
The Tiny Desk becomes a DJ booth for an office space dance party.
Phox
Mar 2, 2015
The Wisconsin band performs three of its warm, accessible songs in the NPR Music offices.
Aurelio
Mar 7, 2015
Aurelio weaves intricate layers of acoustic guitar to capture the feel of African and the Caribbean.
Fantastic Negrito
Mar 9, 2015
The singer beat out nearly 7,000 other submissions to win NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest.
Matt Haimovitz & Christopher O'Riley
Mar 14, 2015
The duo plays visionary Beethoven, heartbreaking Janáček and Glass that unfolds like a lullaby.
Punch Brothers
Mar 16, 2015
Before the wide-ranging band plays, the audience sings "Happy Birthday" to mandolinist Chris Thile.
Anonymous 4 With Bruce Molsky
Mar 28, 2015
The a cappella quartet, with banjo and fiddle, offers popular songs from the Civil War era.
Sylvan Esso
Mar 20, 2015
Performed softly in the light of day, these three songs feel fresh and lovable.
Death Cab For Cutie
Apr 6, 2015
In a beautifully stark performance, the band plays two songs from Kintsugi and two older favorites.
Beach Slang
Apr 10, 2015
James Snyder's euphoric punk anthems become raw and uplifting confessionals in this acoustic set.
Chadwick Stokes
Apr 13, 2015
Stokes' songs feel familiar; they're old friends before you're done hearing them for the first time.
Rosa Díaz
Apr 17, 2015
The singer's lyrics reflect deeply felt emotions in this performance with cellist Daniel de Jesus.
Jessie Ware
Apr 20, 2015
The young English singer brings warmth to electronic music and a swooning quality to her own pop.
DakhaBrakha
Apr 25, 2015
The Ukrainian acoustic quartet's music encompasses sounds and rhythms from around the world.
José González
Apr 29, 2015
This soft-spoken Swedish singer left an imprint at the Tiny Desk that was gentle and long lasting.
Diego El Cigala
May 1, 2015
The singer has been called "the Sinatra of flamenco." His expressive style draws on jazz.
Vijay Iyer Trio
May 4, 2015
Iyer's working band transforms selections from throughout the pianist's deep and varied catalog.
Eskmo
May 8, 2015
Found objects are percussion instruments in the hands of a man who's part musician, part magician.
Bellows
May 11, 2015
These are enchanting songs, with the power to drift in your head for days.
Camané
May 15, 2015
A star in his native Portugal, Camané evokes melancholy with a silky baritone and elegant phrasing.
Young Fathers
May 19, 2015
Intense, hip-hop-infused poetry is reduced to just the essentials in this two-song, four-minute set.
Jason Vieaux And Yolanda Kondonassis
May 22, 2015
Watch the Grammy-winning guitarist and acclaimed harpist play music influenced by Africa and Asia.
Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear
May 26, 2015
The mother-son duo's songs are memorable and singable even days after you hear them.
Frank Fairfield
May 29, 2015
A young man with an old musical soul has a spellbinding voice and fluid fiddle playing.
Genevieve
Jun 1, 2015
See a singer with a powerful voice and extremely encouraging message.
Anna & Elizabeth
Jun 8, 2015
If you've never thought your tastes would lean to mountain music, breathe deep and soak it all in.
The Prettiots
Jun 15, 2015
The clever trio shares its love of everything from Law & Order to old-school girl groups.
Strand Of Oaks
Jun 19, 2015
Timothy Showalter's music is filled with bite and sometimes regret, but also a good deal of warmth.
Hop Along
Jun 22, 2015
Frances Quinlan's raspy voice whispers one moment, then lets loose a gut-punching howl the next.
Oddisee
Jun 26, 2015
The charismatic Brooklyn-via-D.C.-area rapper creates just the right amount of space in his music.
And The Kids
Jun 30, 2015
The trio's music is full of life, with dissonant sounds that still feel suited for singalongs.
Christopher Paul Stelling
Jul 6, 2015
Best witnessed live, Stelling's music is steeped in tradition yet filled with vitality and soul.
Girlpool
Jul 10, 2015
The charming duo performs three of the simple, direct songs from Before The World Was Big.
Songhoy Blues
Jul 17, 2015
See a Malian band that fuses African music with Western rock.
Kate Tempest
Jul 21, 2015
A celebrated English playwright and rapper deploys storytelling and poetry.
Paul Weller
Jul 28, 2015
See the beloved Britpop veteran perform songs from his new album, Saturns Pattern.
Shamir
Jul 31, 2015
The singer's disco-infused funk and soul gets stripped down to a lone voice with a guitar.
SOAK
Aug 3, 2015
Irish singer-songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson makes the most of a single voice and an acoustic guitar.
Terence Blanchard Feat. The E-Collective
Aug 5, 2015
The New Orleans trumpeter's funky new band creates dance music to ward off despair.
Torres
Aug 10, 2015
Mackenzie Scott's music channels Patti Smith and PJ Harvey while hinting at further growth.
Restorations
Aug 14, 2015
The Philly rock band's big-hearted songs are stripped down to a few guitars and a MiniKorg.
Kacey Musgraves
Aug 17, 2015
The country singer plays four songs from Pageant Material, plus the set-closing "Follow Your Arrow."
Son Lux
Aug 21, 2015
The trio blows up its sound by adding off-duty, civilian horn players from the U.S. Marine Band.
Caroline Rose
Aug 24, 2015
Rose plays music as if she's just met her new best friend: It's fresh, fun and enthusiastic.
Eskimeaux
Aug 28, 2015
There's lighthearted, almost childlike beauty in the way Gabrielle Smith puts words to song.
Mitski
Aug 31, 2015
Mitski's music is dark and even scary, but glimmers of beauty peek through.
Happyness
Sep 4, 2015
If you're a fan of dark, incredibly dry, wry humor, you've just found Happyness.
Leon Bridges
Sep 8, 2015
Bridges is easy to love and hard to resist, with purity in his voice that's untouched by modern pop.
Sam Lee
Sep 11, 2015
The singer found his voice by finding and preserving old British, Irish and Scottish folk songs.
Watkins Family Hour
Sep 18, 2015
With help from Fiona Apple, two Nickel Creek alums gather a band to perform old and new songs.
Gina Chavez
Sep 22, 2015
The Austin singer-songwriter performs with intense openness, directness and warmth.
Joan Shelley
Sep 25, 2015
As technology rules the day, here's a reminder that a single voice can carry deep emotion.
The Internet
Sep 29, 2015
The R&B band might just be the oddest thing to come from the hip-hop collective Odd Future.
Lianne La Havas
Oct 2, 2015
The singer is soulful yet playful, raw and vulnerable in a commanding kind of way.
Deqn Sue
Oct 5, 2015
She came so close to winning NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest, we just had to see her play.
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
Oct 9, 2015
The trumpeter presents his emotionally charged, jazz-hybridized "stretch music" in performance.
Oh Pep!
Oct 16, 2015
The band's clever, thoughtful music fits in everywhere from Nashville to its hometown of Melbourne.
Paolo Angeli
Oct 19, 2015
The Sardinian guitarist has a whole toy shop aboard his instrument.
Beauty Pill
Oct 23, 2015
In Beauty Pill, life whirs with plunderphonic glee and riffs are funky from the inside out.
The Suffers
Oct 27, 2015
The 10-piece band can barely fit all its horns, guitars, percussion and energy behind one desk.
Diane Coffee
Nov 2, 2015
Conjuring David Bowie, Diane Coffee's Shaun Fleming swaggered and shimmied behind the Tiny Desk.
Chris Stapleton
Nov 5, 2015 · 15 min
With his wife Morgane, the country singer-songwriter sings patient, detailed songs of devotion.
My bubba
Nov 6, 2015
My bubba is a duo of women whose quirky, delicate, sweetly sung folk songs are a delight.
Aurora
Nov 9, 2015
At 19 and on the cusp of her first album, the Norwegian singer performs with a sense of discovery.
Rahim AlHaj
Nov 13, 2015
The oud player's wordless music tells powerful stories about life's blessedness and fragility.
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Nov 17, 2015
At the Tiny Desk, Rateliff's body-shaking Southern-style soul takes on a more laid-back sound.
The Wild Reeds
Nov 20, 2015
Great singers aren't easy to come by, so finding three in one band is something special.
Youth Lagoon
Nov 23, 2015
Trevor Powers' new songs are expansive and self-assured, a transition reflected in this performance.
Teddy Abrams
Nov 30, 2015
Hear a young conductor, composer and pianist play Beethoven and his own jazzy pieces.
Protomartyr
Dec 4, 2015
The Detroit band's loud, screeching, grousing rock can be profound, poetic and bewildering.
The Oh Hellos
Dec 8, 2015
The nine-piece band bursts with anthemic joy, even as its songs convey darkness and loneliness.
Land Lines
Dec 11, 2015
The Denver band's mysteriously swirling music is singular, new and adventurous.
Shakey Graves
Dec 14, 2015
When the singer breaks out his guitar and suitcase drum, a rush of adrenaline hits the room.
Son Little
Dec 18, 2015
A modernistic bluesman with a taste for electronics appears with just his acoustic guitar.
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Dec 21, 2015
Watch the soul star perform "Silent Night" and two originals — one for Christmas, one for Hanukkah.