Tiny Desk Concerts - Video artwork

Tiny Desk Concerts - Video

419 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 849 ratings

Tiny Desk Concerts from NPR's All Songs Considered features your favorite musicians performing at Bob Boilen's desk in the NPR Music office. Watch videos from Passion Pit, The xx, Wilco, Adele, Phoenix, Tinariwen, tUnE-yArDs and many more.

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Episodes

Now, Now

November 15, 2017 13:45 - 12 minutes Video

The band has new tools in its arsenal, but even in a stripped-down Tiny Desk performance, its focus on tiny moments between people just outside of love is as sharp as ever.

Aminé

November 14, 2017 14:11 - 12 minutes Video

The Portland artist with the most mispronounced name in hip-hop puts on an unforgettable performance.

The Mynabirds

November 10, 2017 13:50 - 19 minutes Video

Singer Laura Burhenn is joined by Jessica Lea Mayfield and the Umoja Choir for songs inspired by the political and cultural upheaval of 2016.

Ani DiFranco

November 09, 2017 18:42 - 19 minutes Video

With the help of a backing band that includes Ivan Neville and Jenny Scheinman, the iconic singer-songwriter plays three songs from across her tough and uncompromising career.

Wyclef Jean

November 06, 2017 14:54 - 25 minutes Video

The hip-hop statesman walked through our doors greeting and charming anyone within arm's reach. Once in front of an audience, he was in attack mode, including a unique rendition of his signature hit.

Nate Smith + KINFOLK

November 06, 2017 14:42 - 17 minutes Video

The drums take center stage at this Tiny Desk. Watch veteran jazz percussionist Nate Smith dazzle the NPR audience in a transfixing performance.

Gracie and Rachel

November 01, 2017 13:05 - 12 minutes Video

Gracie And Rachel mix piano pop with darker, classic violin arrangements to make songs full of mystery and tension. They're joined in this Tiny Desk performance by percussionist Richard Watts.

The Roots feat. Bilal

October 30, 2017 18:26 - 12 minutes Video

Yes, it happened. Black Thought, Questlove and the entire crew packed in behind the Tiny Desk to perform a new song called "It Ain't Fair."

Natalia Lafourcade

October 27, 2017 15:09 - 15 minutes Video

The Grammy-nominated singer's Tiny Desk is an ode to a magical time in Mexican popular music.

Japanese Breakfast

October 25, 2017 12:42 - 11 minutes Video

For this Tiny Desk concert, Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner replaced her gauzy synths with a string quartet. The result is something to behold.

Shabazz Palaces

October 23, 2017 14:24 - 11 minutes Video

Hip-hop's otherworldly lot touches down on Bob Boilen's desk for some Afrofuturistic mind travel.

The Perceptionists

October 20, 2017 12:42 - 21 minutes Video

Watch hip-hop veterans Mr. Lif and Akrobatik team up behind the Tiny Desk.

Thundercat

October 18, 2017 13:06 - 10 minutes Video

Thundercat is willing and able to shape-shift to fit into just about any box you show him, but he won't stay in there for long.

Hanson

October 16, 2017 13:32 - 14 minutes Video

Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson just celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band. To celebrate, watch them perform three of their post-"MMMBop" career highlights.

Randy Newman

October 10, 2017 14:15 - 13 minutes Video

Watch the six-time Grammy winner go solo behind the Tiny Desk.

Landlady

October 06, 2017 13:00 - 18 minutes Video

Landlady's music is more than sonic exploration, it's an adventure. The songs can feel a bit drugged-out – a bit high and full of curiosity – but never overly intoxicated or out-of-touch.

Paramore

October 02, 2017 19:38 - 12 minutes Video

Paramore captures the moment between rapture and its comedown. Watch the band rearrange songs from its sparkling pop album After Laughter.

Dawg Yawp

September 29, 2017 14:49 - 18 minutes Video

Welcome the world of Dawg Yawp, the musical concoction of Rob Keenan and Tyler Randall, where drones and toy pianos are likely to collide with heavy metal electronics and a well-placed melody.

Chronixx

September 27, 2017 14:14 - 14 minutes Video

The Jamaican reggae star proudly carries the torch of his country's roots reggae legends.

Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers

September 26, 2017 16:18 - 16 minutes Video

It's hard to think of an artist who's brought more joy to more people, across more generations — and in more ways — than Steve Martin.

Bomba Estereo

September 22, 2017 15:04 - 9 minutes Video

Bomba Estereo is not known as a hushed band. Member Simon Mejia said this Tiny Desk performance was the group's quietest, a stripped-down treatment that illustrates the inherent quality of the music.

Ssingssing

September 21, 2017 20:45 - 15 minutes Video

It's safe to say this Korean, cross-dressing rock band looks and sounds like no one who's ever performed at the Tiny Desk.

Snail Mail

September 15, 2017 13:20 - 15 minutes Video

Snail Mail's sleepy songs have a way of waking you up. Watch the band perform music from its quietly stunning Habit EP, plus a new song played solo by Lindsey Jordan.

L.A. Salami

September 13, 2017 13:17 - 20 minutes Video

The story songs and poetry of Lookman Adekunle Salami, who writes and records as L.A. Salami, recall the brilliant and epic ramblings of Bob Dylan.

Bleachers

September 12, 2017 13:02 - 15 minutes Video

Jack Antonoff re-arranged three songs from his band's latest album, Gone Now, for the Tiny Desk.

Frances Cone

September 08, 2017 13:00 - 12 minutes Video

The now Brooklyn-based band crafts infectious pop music that builds dramatically before giving way to a quiet calm.

Jidenna

September 05, 2017 16:39 - 12 minutes Video

The Nigerian-American MC and his band perform three reworked selections from Jidenna's impeccable debut album, The Chief.

Jason Isbell

August 28, 2017 16:58 - 20 minutes Video

The Alabama singer-songwriter and his band perform three songs from The Nashville Sound, but their set includes a few surprises, too.

DJ Premier & The Badder Band

August 21, 2017 13:00 - 24 minutes Video

One of hip-hop's most revered producers brings his songs to life behind the Tiny Desk, with the help of a 4-piece band.

ALA.NI

August 14, 2017 14:00 - 18 minutes Video

ALA.NI performs a Tiny Desk Concert on June 20, 2017. (Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR)

Maggie Rogers

August 07, 2017 13:01 - 14 minutes Video

The Maryland singer-songwriter and viral star performs three of her best-known songs, including a sweet solo take on her career-making "Alaska."

Diet Cig

August 03, 2017 15:47 - 9 minutes Video

Diet Cig's songs crackle like Pop Rocks, but with a confrontational honesty and striking gravity — and on top of Bob Boilen's desk.

Aldous Harding

July 28, 2017 13:00 - 4 seconds Video

Intensity in songs often expresses itself as volume – a loud guitar, a scream, a piercing synth line. But in the case of Aldous Harding it's in the spaces, the pauses, and her unique delivery.

The Shins

July 26, 2017 15:16 - 10 minutes Video

James Mercer, the emotional and creative heart of The Shins, gives a moving performance at the Tiny Desk, with two new songs and a classic from the band's 2003 album Chutes Too Narrow.

Albin Lee Meldau

July 21, 2017 13:00 - 13 minutes Video

Albin Lee Meldau possesses a thunderous, deeply affecting voice, which he uses to tell some utterly dark, but demonstrably cathartic, tales.

Rare Essence

July 19, 2017 11:51 - 16 minutes Video

Rare Essence has been bringing go-go to the world since 1976 — the group brought that pedigree, and the genre's massive meld of funk, rhythm and blues and soul, to this raucous hometown Tiny Desk.

Tuxedo

July 18, 2017 18:48 - 12 minutes Video

Tuxedo, the unlikely-on-paper funk-soul duo of Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, brought a left-of-center sonic approach and a sharp sense of style to their Tiny Desk Concert.

Fragile Rock

July 14, 2017 14:05 - 12 minutes Video

Fragile Rock is a band that relies on the boogie of The B-52s, the melancholy of The Smiths and the humor of Kermit the Frog. Oh, and they're all puppets.

Jay Som

July 10, 2017 15:06 - 16 minutes Video

Melina Duterte may have played all the instruments on Jay Som's newest record, Everybody Works, but her touring band brought a rougher edge to those silky recordings.

Chance The Rapper

July 05, 2017 11:00 - 13 minutes Video

Chance The Rapper, fresh from a 23,000-strong, sold-out show the night before, brought a thoughtful and fresh take to his Tiny Desk concert.

Helado Negro

June 30, 2017 17:20 - 15 minutes Video

Helado Negro ditches his bank of electronics for alto and tenor saxophones, bringing his utterly unique style to a intense, perfectly balanced Tiny Desk Concert.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet

June 29, 2017 19:41 - 26 minutes Video

Artistic legacy, evolution and studied ease coalesced at this Tiny Desk Concert, with Coltrane offering four interpretations of his and others' works.

Holly Macve

June 23, 2017 13:51 - 16 minutes Video

Backed by a suitably low-key band, Macve would sound subtly radiant just about anywhere, from your nearest country bar to the most dreamily lit stage in Twin Peaks.

Tigers Jaw

June 19, 2017 13:40 - 11 minutes Video

The duo strips down to acoustic guitar and keyboard for a strikingly intimate set, illuminating their close harmonies that tangle like garlands.

Penguin Cafe

June 16, 2017 14:57 - 16 minutes Video

Penguin Cafe folds in sounds from around the world and throughout music history — Africa, Kraftwerk, Brazil and Franz Schubert.

Perfume Genius

June 12, 2017 18:13 - 9 minutes Video

The band's long-awaited performance at the Tiny Desk was both beautiful and, at times, intense, featuring three deeply personal songs by frontman Mike Hadreas.

Violents & Monica Marten

June 05, 2017 13:17 - 15 minutes Video

While her band was on hiatus, Monica Martin joined Jeremy Larson's project Violents, yielding a lush record of electronic pop, translated into a quieted set at the Tiny Desk.

Nick Grant

June 02, 2017 13:58 - 12 minutes Video

The Atlanta-based MC came through with the flu and coolly earned our praise. How sick is that?

Royal Thunder

May 30, 2017 14:36 - 14 minutes Video

What happens when you ask a hard-rock band to unplug its thunder? It draws power from a raw, desperate vulnerability.

Gabriel Garzón-Montano

May 26, 2017 13:56 - 11 minutes Video

Gabriel Garzón-Montano spent three years writing and recording his beautiful, dense album Jardin -- but for his Tiny Desk visit, he stripped it all down to two elements, the piano and his voice.