Tiny Desk Concerts

The success of Malaysian-born singer-songwriter Zee Avi is an increasingly familiar, but still noteworthy story: Avi was discovered after posting a few songs on YouTube and within about a year was signed to release first album, the self-titled Zee Avi. Here in this intimate Tiny Desk Concert the singer delivers three hushed lullabies, including what has become one of her signature songs, Morrissey's "First of the Gang."

Bowerbirds' handcrafted songs creak and swell like wooden floorboards in an old house. With acoustic guitar, accordion and violin, the band's pastoral folk music has a distinctively spare yet harmonious sound. Hear the group, fronted by Phil Moore and Beth Tacular, perform a captivating Tiny Desk Concert in the NPR Music offices.

Though his appearance at the NPR Music office qualifies as the first-ever hip-hop Tiny Desk Concert, Somali-born rapper K'naan isn't one to adhere to a single genre. With the help of a crack backing band, his three-song set exuded shimmery grace while incorporating the sounds of soul, pop and reggae.

Known as a varsity-level banterer on stage, Lerche puts his considerable magnetism to good use in this charming Tiny Desk Concert in the NPR Music offices. Performing three songs from his recent album Heartbeat Radio, he conveys all the lilting sweetness his fans have come to expect.

At 10 members, this is the biggest band ever to play a Tiny Desk Concert in the NPR Music offices. But singers Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos still find a way to command attention, as they trade vocals amid a warm, shambling concoction of keyboards, percussion, guitars, accordion, trumpet and more.

It's hard to overstate the impact that Dr. Ralph Stanley has had on bluegrass and old-time gospel music. Now 82, he sits atop a 60-year legacy of making music, both as the preeminent purveyor of clawhammer-style banjo picking and as a singer with one of the most widely imitated (but never duplicated) voices in country music. For this short Tiny Desk Concert, Stanley performs three classic songs, all a cappella: "Gloryland," "Turn Back, Turn Back" and "Amazing Grace."

A Mexican duo living in Dublin, Rodrigo y Gabriela just released an album called 11:11, which pays tribute to the pair's heroes — Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Astor Piazzolla and Pantera's Dimebag Darrell among them. It's quite a stretch to travel from the bruising heavy metal of Pantera to the tango of Piazzolla, but it all works. See how in this amazing performance they gave at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

Vanderslice is a songwriter's songwriter. His music, a beautifully finessed mix of acoustic instruments, analog drum machines and digital textures, is invariably thoughtful, carefully crafted and affecting. He's prolific, too: Vanderslice has released an album nearly every year this decade, and his latest (Romanian Names) is his most inspired so far. See him perform acoustic versions of his newest songs in this Tiny Desk Concert.

Looking sharp in his tailored suit, the Grammy-nominated R&B artist performed three acoustic interpretations of his soul-inspired tunes. He was joined by guitarist Rob Bacon in this intimate performance at Bob Boilen's desk.

Reduced to a duo for this charming session in the NPR Music offices, Telekinesis is all heart: Without the insistent crunch of electric guitars or drums, the band's performance radiates sweetly awkward warmth. After opening with the unreleased "Plankton," the abbreviated Telekinesis showcases three gorgeous songs from its debut: "Coast of Carolina," "I Saw Lightning" and "Rust."

The young Swedish folksinger Kristian Matsson, a.k.a. The Tallest Man on Earth, is passionate, gruff, a great guitar picker and a damn good poet. The melodies are strong, but Matsson's imagery and stories are what make his music stand out. Here, he performs three of his best songs at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

We often joke about how many people we can fit behind Bob Boilen's desk for one of NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts. Every month, we seem to push the boundary just a bit farther, as the bands get bigger and louder. But the first real test of our limits came when eight members of Dark Meat showed up to play.

For those who can't wait to hear songs from Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's follow-up to Once (titled Strict Joy, out Oct. 27), the pair played six new songs before performing the first-ever Tiny Desk Concert encore: a white-knuckle journey through "When Your Mind's Made Up."

In this charming performance at the NPR Music offices, Siskind performs two of the highlights from Say It Louder before closing with a requested "Lovin's for Fools." Each song finds her concocting a heady cocktail of tender beauty and winsome regret, while employing a voice that's at once honeyed and raw.

A lot of talented artists pass by Bob Boilen's desk. But this was the first time that NPR Music was serenaded by a trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba and truncated drum kit playing a Rufus Wainwright cover (and several clever originals) in rich, soulful polyphony.