NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Season 2008

Not Rated

National Public Radio brings many different musicians in to play a short concert in the office.

Where to Watch NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts • Season 2008

10 Episodes

Laura Gibson
E1
Laura GibsonLaura Gibson works through a handful of tenderhearted songs: two of them unreleased and two of them from her full-length debut, If You Come to Greet Me.
Vic Chesnutt
E2
Vic ChesnuttWhen Athens, Ga., songwriter Vic Chesnutt was on tour in support of his album, “North Star Deserter,” he stopped by NPR to perform live at All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's desk. Chesnutt played five songs, including two entirely new ones.
Sam Phillips
E3
Sam PhillipsThe music of Sam Phillips unfolds like perfect, miniature pop dramas. Of all her incarnations as a performer — first as a Christian singer, then as a pop singer — the current Sam Phillips is one of the most alluring. Phillips performs four songs from “Don't Do Anything.”
Sera Cahoone
E4
Sera CahooneSera Cahoone got her start playing drums for a few widely adored bands in the Pacific Northwest, most notably Band of Horses and the spell-checker-defying Carissa's Wierd. But her self-titled, self-released 2006 album marked her as a fully formed talent — a warm and inviting singer whose songs convey world-weariness and homespun grace.
Thao Nguyen
E5
Thao NguyenThao Nguyen makes captivating music. Her songs are raw and infectious, her voice has a distinctive swagger, and she's a remarkably nimble guitarist.
Lambchop's Kurt Wagner
E6
Lambchop's Kurt WagnerKurt Wagner writes and sings beautiful songs with Lambchop, a hefty Nashville ensemble with a calm, restrained sound. When Kurt Wagner came by the office to play a Tiny Desk Concert, he came alone, with just an acoustic guitar, a stack of lyrics and his humble, good-natured sense of humor.
Dr. Dog
E7
Dr. DogDr. Dog isn't an obvious choice for one of NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts. For one thing, it's a pretty big group, at least for the small space behind Bob Boilen's desk. The band's music can be pretty chaotic — loud and rumbling, with multiple instruments fighting to be heard. And singer Toby Leaman likes to belt out his vocals in a window-rattling, raspy growl.
Jim White
E8
Jim WhiteJim White is a storyteller first and a musician second. It's a kind of storytelling rooted in his own unusual history: He grew up in Florida in a deeply Pentecostal community and fell in love with the white gospel music he heard. But from there, White took a surprising path to becoming a full-time musician. He was a professional surfer, a boxer, a fashion model in Milan and a cab driver in New York City. White's travels recently took him to Washington, D.C., where he stopped by the offices of NPR Music for this live performance.
Shearwater
E9
ShearwaterA glorious four-song set that's at once pristine and ramshackle — equal parts clarity and clatter — not to mention one of our best Tiny Desk Concerts yet.
Dave Dondero
E10
Dave DonderoHe should be a name everyone knows by now. Instead, troubadour David Dondero returned to NPR having slept the night before in his car. Dondero travels from club to club, singing his well-crafted songs — songs that have his signature lyrics at their core. His lyrics can make you smile with their wit and hurt with their bite, all at the same time.