Season 2012
77 episodes · Jan 5, 2012
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S5E1Tinariwen
Jan 5, 2012Even in a stripped-down acoustic set, Tinariwen's trance-inducing desert music doesn't disappoint.
S5E2Le Butcherettes
Jan 9, 2012Watch singer Teri Gender Bender transform from a soft-spoken musician into a rock 'n' roll beast.
S5E3Screaming Females
Jan 17, 2012The band's keen sense of song prevails, especially in a new song called "It All Means Nothing."
S5E4Jake Schepps' Expedition Quartet
Jan 19, 2012Banjo master Schepps and friends create an intriguing goulash of Bartók, bluegrass and bebop.
S5E5Glenn Jones
Jan 23, 2012Watch the masterful folk guitarist perform a lovely instrumental set at the NPR Music offices.
S5E6Anna Calvi
Jan 26, 2012Calvi plays songs from her self-titled debut in this powerful performance at the NPR Music offices.
S5E7Girl In A Coma
Jan 30, 2012The San Antonio trio gets back to basics to explore its songs' forms and the soul of its lyrics.
S5E8Bill Frisell
Feb 3, 2012The brilliant and nimble guitarist reinvents the songs of John Lennon at the NPR Music offices.
S5E9The Creole Choir Of Cuba
Feb 6, 2012The group has revitalized a long-lost culture through music performed entirely in Haitian Creole.
S5E10Craig Finn
Feb 9, 2012The Hold Steady singer's stark side is nicely conducive to barren arrangements at the NPR offices.
S5E11Red Baraat
Feb 14, 2012The dance-friendly, India-inspired funk group performs a high-energy set at the NPR Music offices.
S5E12Joan Soriano
Feb 16, 2012"The Duke of Bachata" gives a raw but beautiful interpretation of bachata at the NPR Music offices.
S5E13Joyce El Khoury And Brian Jagde
Feb 20, 2012Hear the fresh-faced opera singers perform Puccini at the NPR Music offices.
S5E14The Cranberries
Feb 23, 2012In this performance at the NPR Music offices, the Irish pop band mixes new songs with early hits.
S5E15Milagres
Feb 27, 2012A band of selective minimalism, Milagres gets the most of simple sounds at the NPR Music offices.
S5E16Pistolera
Mar 1, 2012Through her insightful lyrics, Sandra Velasquez conjures the sounds of the Mexican desert.
S5E17Laura Gibson
Mar 5, 2012Her gorgeous, whispery voice inspired the Tiny Desk Concerts series in 2008. Now, Laura Gibson returns with her band to perform four songs from her new album, La Grande.
S5E18Rudresh Mahanthappa
Mar 8, 2012The saxophonist's new repertoire salutes electric funk, South Indian modes and swarming solos.
S5E19Real Estate
Mar 12, 2012Real Estate wears placidity well: It's a band born and bred to convey and celebrate laconic comfort.
S5E20Kayhan Kalhor
Mar 24, 2012A soulful master musician from Iran, Kalhor performs a beautiful improvisation at the NPR offices.
S5E21First Aid Kit
Mar 28, 2012Sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg make charming, folk-infused pop music that lulls and enchants.
S5E22So Percussion
Apr 2, 2012The ensemble employs all kinds of toys, from an amplified cactus to a mug filled with spare change.
S5E23Kathleen Edwards
Apr 5, 2012The Canadian singer performs four sweet, warm, relatable songs that soothe as they nourish.
S5E24Caveman
Apr 10, 2012Caveman writes guitar-based pop songs full of space and melodies you can carry around in your head.
S5E25Novalima
Apr 12, 2012At the NPR offices, the band plays in a lean, funky configuration that gets the room grooving along.
S5E26Soweto Gospel Choir
Apr 16, 2012The group fuses the music of many Christian cultures, with nods to African songs of celebration.
S5E27Jolie Holland
Apr 23, 2012Holland plays songs with an unadorned tone that makes the voice and lyrics all the more touching.
S5E28Cowboy Junkies
Apr 26, 2012The venerable band sounds as poignant and tender as ever in this performance at the NPR offices.
S5E29Hospitality
Apr 30, 2012The group doesn't overwhelm so much as it wears listeners down with a subtle charm offensive.
S5E30Nathan Salsburg
May 3, 2012The guitarist displays intricate fingerpicking in two songs inspired by Kentucky Derby racehorses.
S5E31Endangered Blood
May 7, 2012The jazz quartet draws from post-bop, 20th-century chromaticism and New Orleans funeral marches.
S5E32Kishi Bashi
May 10, 2012K Ishibashi is a master at building songs from live violin loops, layered singing and beatboxing.
S5E33Pedro Soler And Gaspar Claus
May 14, 2012The improvisational music of the father-son, guitar-cello duo functions as a beautiful conversation.
S5E34Chuck Brown
May 16, 2012The Godfather of Go-Go died Wednesday. In 2010, he brought his full band to the NPR Music office.
S5E35Arborea
May 17, 2012Rooted in acoustic traditions, the music of Arborea stands out for its calm beauty and rough edges.
S5E36Yann Tiersen
May 21, 2012Tiersen's rich, liltingly eccentric pop music is constructed from lots of sweet, intricate pieces.
S5E37Canadian Brass
May 26, 2012The venerable brass quintet sports virtuosic, fresh-faced players in tried-and-true repertoire.
S5E38Patrick Watson
May 31, 2012Watson has a lovely voice and a gift for wringing evocative sounds out of everything he touches.
S5E39Kelly Hogan
Jun 4, 2012The unflappable singer performs three songs with seeming effortlessness and easygoing charm.
S5E40Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom
Jun 7, 2012The drummer dedicates tunes to her friends, including her first teacher — a "sometimes great guy."
S5E41Daniel Johnston
Jun 11, 2012Watch three songs by a troubled soul with a talent for writing honest, disarmingly direct music.
S5E42Glen Hansard
Jun 17, 2012Hansard flexes his neck muscles a bit as he performs new songs and deep cuts at the NPR offices.
S5E43Mariachi El Bronx
Jun 21, 2012The band plays with just the right mixture of passion and pathos in a fun set at the NPR offices.
S5E44Reggie Watts
Jun 25, 2012The comedian and musician performs spontaneous improvisations full of killer grooves and humor.
S5E45Exitmusic
Jul 2, 2012The band plays a beautifully buzzing, nuanced set, marked by gorgeous grace and stirring melodies.
S5E46Brandi Carlile
Jul 9, 2012At the NPR offices, Carlile and her band sing from-the-gut songs about messy lives, loudly lived.
S5E47Laura Marling
Jul 12, 2012Two songs from A Creature I Don't Know bookend a gorgeous new, unreleased song called "Once."
S5E48Souad Massi
Jul 15, 2012A soulful yet steely singer-songwriter from Algeria charts her own course in these four songs.
S5E49The Milk Carton Kids
Jul 16, 2012Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale sing sweet but intricate folk-pop songs in the NPR offices.
S5E50Janet Feder
Jul 22, 2012Feder marries classical and folk techniques with otherworldly guitar textures and sounds.
S5E51The Walkmen
Jul 29, 2012The band makes the Tiny Desk accommodate its booming sound rather than the other way around.
S5E52Beth Orton
Aug 6, 2012Known for mixing folk and electronics, Orton unveils three new songs with just an acoustic guitar.
S5E53The Zombies
Aug 12, 2012Two surviving members of the band still have the same chemistry here in a stripped-down performance.
S5E54Rufus Wainwright
Aug 20, 2012By the middle of Wainwright's final song, "Montauk," few dry eyes remained in the NPR offices.
S5E55Renaud Garcia-Fons
Aug 27, 2012Watch the renowned double bassist thump, strum and loop his way through three mesmerizing songs.
S5E56Avi Avital
Sep 10, 2012Avital's mandolin sings with the sounds of Ernest Bloch and a raucous Bulgarian folk tune.
S5E57Amanda Palmer And The Grand Theft Orchestra
Sep 17, 2012These songs' fervor is the product of a singer armed with intensity and musicians who can match it.
S5E58Yva Las Vegass
Sep 24, 2012Watch Las Vegass bring a punk aesthetic to Venezuelan folk music with a cuatro at the NPR offices.
S5E59Kat Edmonson
Oct 1, 2012Hearing the 29-year-old singer makes it virtually impossible to do anything but stop and listen.
S5E60Antibalas
Oct 4, 2012It's one thing for 11 musicians to make a big sound, but what stands out is Antibalas' subtlety.
S5E61Spirit Family Reunion
Oct 8, 2012The group plays fiddle, banjo, guitar and washboard, all gathered around a single microphone.
S5E62Dirty Three
Oct 15, 2012The band unleashes a gorgeous flurry of shambolic rumbling, prolific hairiness and dramatic yelling.
S5E63Robert Cray Band
Oct 22, 2012Like any great blues singer, Cray makes heartache and dysfunction sound engaging and relatable.
S5E64Lord Huron
Oct 25, 2012The band's rich harmonies are welcoming, its lyrics relatable and its live performances thrilling.
S5E65Passion Pit
Oct 29, 2012Michael Angelakos makes electro-pop with monster hooks. But his songs are sturdy, versatile things.
S5E66Jason Lytle
Nov 5, 2012The longtime frontman for Grandaddy goes it alone with acoustic solo songs from his latest record.
S5E67Flaco Jimenez
Nov 12, 2012The conjunto icon spins magic, and stays true to tradition, with his trademark button accordion.
S5E68Ben Gibbard
Nov 19, 2012For Tiny Desk Concert No. 250, the Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service singer performs solo.
S5E69Martha Wainwright
Nov 26, 2012Wainwright roughs up life's smooth spots, then digs her fingertips into the cracks that form.
S5E70Taken By Trees
Nov 29, 2012Victoria Bergsman's songs seem to come from a place somewhere between a dream state and waking life.
S5E71Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Dec 3, 2012The Seattle duo literally shakes the dust off the ceiling tiles at the NPR Music offices.
S5E72Anaïs Mitchell
Dec 6, 2012The singer-songwriter performs three of Young Man in America's most bracingly beautiful songs.
S5E73Daniel Bachman
Dec 9, 2012Once the acoustic guitarist zeroes in on the center of a song, it's easy to get lost in it yourself.
S5E74Lyle Lovett
Dec 10, 2012Lovett gives a loose, engaging performance that feels like both an introduction and a victory lap.
S5E75Alt-J
Dec 17, 2012The Mercury Prize-winning band plays angular, poetic, inventive music that takes unexpected turns.
S5E76The Polyphonic Spree
Dec 21, 2012The sprawling group, 17 strong, squeezes behind Bob Boilen's desk for a special holiday performance.
S5E77Miguel
Dec 31, 2012Performing at the NPR Music offices, Miguel strips his highly produced hits down to their bones.