Awesome Npr

Santi White, aka Santigold is best known for L.E.S. Artistes and Disparate Youth, but she’s got a rich history as an alternative and punk rock musician. She recently stopped by the NPR offices to perform a diverse set, backed by a fantastic band, including Chuck Treece of Bad Brains fame and George Lewis, Jr. aka Twin Shadow.

Back in August, Regina Spektor put on this fantastic, intimate performance, kicking things off with an improvised song about the Tiny Desk, followed by tracks from her 2022 release Home, Before and After, along with a couple of classics. Sadly, she had to cancel her 2022 tour due to COVID, but we hope to see her on the road in 2023.

Throughout his 60-year jazz career, double bass maestro Ron Carter has always been the coolest cat in the room. To celebrate his 85th birthday, the national treasure jams supreme in an NPR Tiny Desk Concert filmed onstage at the Blue Note Jazz Club. The jazz deity will be fêted at Carnegie Hall on 5.10.22.

Modern hardcore punk band Turnstile cranks up the volume while surrounded by a sound-dampening wall of stuffed animals in this most excellent NPR Tiny Desk Concert. The seven-song sit-down offers a fresh take on their acclaimed 2021 album Glow On.

JAMBINAI combines elements of traditional Korean music with heavy metal. To achieve their unique sound, they perform using a mix of old-world and modern instruments. While the backdrop may look like NPR Music’s Tiny Desk office, it’s actually a projection, which changes to reflect the group’s rich and powerful sound.

One of The Flaming Lips’ trademark theatrics is for lead singer Wayne Coyne to crowdsurf the audience inside of a plastic sphere. Thanks to COVID, they decided to perform their entire NPR Tiny Desk concert inside of the bubbles as well. Next up, the band plans on performing for an entire audience inside of bubbles.

Performing under the name Goat Rodeo, musicians Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile turn in a wonderfully stripped-down performance that combines elements of jazz, bluegrass, country, folk, and classical music. Vocalist Aoife O’Donovan accompanies the quartet for the final song “The Trappings.”

Despite having to perform from home, Billie and her brother Finneas sure look like they performed their Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices. It’s a powerfully intimate performance, with stripped back versions of the tracks “my future” and “everything i wanted.”

Kevin Parker and his Tame Impala bandmates fill our ears and minds with groovy electronic beats and mellifluous vocals in this mini-concert performed at the musician’s home studio in Australia. Tracks include “Breathe Deeper,” “Is It True,” and “Patience.”

Without an arena (or the NPR offices) to perform in, Lenny Kravitz and his bandmates turned in this intimate three-song concert from Lenny’s chill home setting in Eleuthera, Bahamas. The tracks include “Thinking Of You,” “What Did I Do With My Life?,” and the 2020-appropriate “We Can Get It All Together.”

Among his many talents, musician Jacob Collier is known for his multitrack music videos. While quarantined at home, he and his three identical (virtual) twins performed this stellar NPR Tiny Desk Concert that showcases his diverse musical skills through three smooth and enveloping tunes.

Singer-songwriter M. Ward sits down on his couch for a truly intimate acoustic guitar set that will transport you a kinder and gentler time and place. Along the way, you’ll enjoy classic tracks like Chinese Translation, and new ones like Coyote Mary’s Traveling Show from his 2020 album Migration Stories.

With the NPR offices temporarily off-limits, they’re continuing the Tiny Desk series with new episodes recorded at musicians’ homes. Here, MC Sa-Roc brings her smooth blend of hip hop, soul, social commentary, and spiritualism to bear, with a set of four poetic tracks loaded with meaningful messages. That’s Sol Messiah on DJ duties.

Formed way back in 1976, Wire was one of the most influential bands in the UK punk rock scene. So it’s pretty awesome that three of the band’s original members still get together and make music. In this NPR Tiny Desk Concert, they performed a mix of classic and new tracks, which meld as if they were all recorded in the same era.

Back in the ’80s and ’90s, NPR produced a series of broadcasts that retold the original Star Wars trilogy as a radio drama. Using original audio recordings of the series, combined with movie music and sound effects, Nigel Langes compiled all of the episodes into a playlist of three videos, running about 11 hours in total.

Shortly before the lockdowns began, Chris Robinson and his brother Rich dropped by the NPR offices to perform three of their soul-stirring 1990s tunes stripped down to their essence, including their hits “She Talks to Angels” and “Jealous Again,” along with a lesser-known track, “Wiser Time.”

(PG-13: Language) Alex O’Connor aka Rex Orange County performs a mini-concert of four soulful and heartfelt tunes, bringing a touch of much needed light into these dark days. We love how he embraces the vibe of 1970s adult contemporary music, but still makes it his own.

Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland dropped by the NPR offices with a nine-member gospel choir, who provided backing vocals for soulful performances of “Cry Cry Cry,” “Viva La Vida,” “Broken,” a cover of Prince’s “1999,” and their 2019 track “Champion of the World.”

One of the things we love about NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert is that it embraces all kinds of music. In this episode, musician Bridget Kibbey wows us with her incredible harp-plucking skills, and fills our ears with the most soothing of sounds.

Christmas arrived early in October when Los Lobos released Llegó Navidad. For a special holiday edition of NPR’s Tiny Desk, the beloved group performed four festive tunes: “Dónde Está Santa Claus,” Freddy Fender’s “It’s Christmas Time In Texas,” the record’s title track, and Llegó Navidad’s sole original, “Christmas and You.”

The always amazing Sheryl Crow and her ensemble stopped by NPR Music’s studios to perform a true mini concert, playing seven tunes, including classics like All I Wanna Do, A Change Would Do You Good, and If It Makes You Happy, along with tracks off of her collaborative album Threads.

The members of the jazz collective Snarky Puppy turned in a downright funky mix of keyboards, horns, bass, guitar, violin, and percussion during their appearance at the NPR Music offices. They performed their instrumental tracks Tarova and Xavi, the latter’s complex rhythms with the assistance of the audience.

Listen up as NPR’s offices are filled with rich and vibrant sounds made by musician Kian Soltani and his rare Giovanni Grancino cello, made way back in 1680. The tracks are Hungarian Rhapsody by Popper, Nacht und Träume by Schubert (arr. Soltani), and Persian Fire Dance, by Soltani himself. That’s Christopher Schmitt on piano.