Tiny Desk Concerts

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.

It's a high compliment to suggest that these three Bill Callahan songs may well implant themselves in your brain, lay eggs and sprout horrifically disturbing dreams at that point when you're banging on the snooze alarm in a state of anguished early-morning half-sleep. Hear and watch Callahan perform at the NPR Music offices.

If you see Canadian singer-songwriter Julie Doiron perform live, you'll hear a good deal of distorted guitars and intense drumming. Well, at least when she's not performing at the NPR Music offices. It took her a few takes, but we wound up with a bare, stark and memorable set at the Tiny Desk.

It's clear from this Tiny Desk Concert, recorded without amplification at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen, that Maria Taylor has never made a go of it as a busker: In terms of volume, she's closer to a whisper than a scream. But hers is a wonderfully warm presence, and the setting brings out her songs' winsome essence.

With all due respect to its terrific albums and kinetic, frenetic live shows, if The Avett Brothers could put on a three-song acoustic concert at every workplace in America, the band would be a world-beating colossus. For proof, listen to this performance in the NPR Music offices.

The classical guitarist has a wide ranging appetite for music, and plays with a clear, lyrical technique. His diverse set at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen mixes the baroque, Argentine dance, West African rhythms and a classic from Spain.

Singer Tony Dekker has a sterling track record for gentle, sweet-voiced ruminations on nature, beauty, conflict and the human body. He sheds his backing band, Great Lake Swimmers, long enough to perform three of his songs at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

Ferree is a character with just enough charisma to draw you into his oddball world. While his subject matter is dark (his latest album revolves around a child actor whose life ended tragically), Ferree's music often has a lilt with hints of humor, as is evidenced by his Tiny Desk Concert.

Sweet-voiced, bearded acoustic guitarists are not a rare commodity in the Pacific Northwest, which has spawned the likes of Fleet Foxes, Blind Pilot and countless others, just in the last few years. Horse Feathers' Justin Ringle may be the gentlest beard-wearer of them all, which made him a perfect candidate to appear in NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts series: With a voice that high and soft, the man needs a quiet room.

Sir Tom Jones, a full-throated legend among legends, wasn't an obvious choice for a Tiny Desk concert. When we began the series last year, the goal was to bring in quieter, more intimate artists (Laura Gibson, Vic Chesnutt) who are often drowned out by the clinking glasses and chatter of the small clubs they play. When a publicist for Tom Jones contacted us and said the singer wanted to do a "Big Desk Concert" for us, the thought of Jones' substantial voice filling our office left us laughing — and dying to do it.

The music of Super XX Man's Scott Garred is often introspective and deeply personal. It's sometimes playful, bittersweet and dreamy, but Garred's songs are always heartfelt and reflective. When he stopped by the NPR Music offices on Oct. 22, he gave an intimate solo performance.

On tour with a full band, Woven Hand's David Eugene Edwards went solo at Bob Boilen's desk with his mandolin-banjo hybrid, a unique instrument made in 1887 by luthier August Pollman. He performs his fiery Americana, as well as a plaintive take on Bob Dylan's "As I Went Out One Morning."