Tiny Desk Concerts

Jakob Dylan: Tiny Desk Concert

April 2, 2010 There have only been a handful of Tiny Desk Concerts where NPR employees have overflowed our modest office space, stepping away from looming deadlines to hear some music. Jakob Dylan and his touring companions, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan and Paul Rigby, joined those ranks when they stopped by to perform a mesmerizing, stripped-down set of songs from his latest record, Women and Country.

by Bob Boilen

It's been about 20 years since Jakob Dylan first began making music at Canter's Deli in Los Angeles. Back then he was heading up his band The Wallflowers. In 1996, The Wallflowers put out Bringing Down The Horse, a record they made with musician and producer T-Bone Burnett. That record proved to be a success, both musically and financially. Now 14 years later, Dylan has reunited with Burnett to create some of the best songs of his life, on his latest record, Women and Country — his second album under his own name.

His touring band includes those who helped him make that record, including Neko Case and Kelly Hogan. Fans of All Songs Considered have followed Case as a singer in The New Pornographers and as a mighty solo artist in her own right. Hogan, another terrific songwriter and singer, has been making records since the early '90s. The two sang backing vocals with Jakob Dylan when he stopped by for a Tiny Desk Concert.

Dylan's entourage also included Paul Rigby, a guitarist fans of Neko Case might know from his contributions to her music. His parlor-sized steel-stringed guitar sounded beautiful played quietly through his amp, even in these cozy confines.

There have been a handful of Tiny Desk Concerts where NPR employees have overflowed our modest office space, stepping away from looming deadlines to hear some music. Jakob Dylan and his companions joined the ranks of Moby and Tom Jones by performing a mesmerizing, stripped-down set and managed to serenade us away from the daily unemployment figures and politics, even for just a few wonderful minutes.