Season 2013

1. Lucius

2013-01-07

One minute, Lucius sounds like a '60s girl group; the next might conjure images of Emmylou Harris.

2. Black Prairie

2013-01-14

With members of The Decemberists, the band lends a snappy, lilting quality to songs of alienation.

3. Of Montreal

2013-01-28

Frontman Kevin Barnes uses the intimacy of the NPR Music offices to try out some quiet new material.

4. Cantus

2013-02-04

The a cappella ensemble sings widely divergent songs from American, European and Sufi traditions.

5. The xx

2013-02-11

In The xx's songs, all the calm chilliness in the world can't quite contain an exposed heart.

6. Night Beds

2013-02-18

Winston Yellen's arresting voice propels a lighthearted but deeply affecting set at the NPR office.

7. Mary Halvorson Quintet

2013-02-25

The guitarist brings a decidedly non-standard approach to jazz's standard practices.

8. The Lone Bellow

2013-03-04

The fast-rising Brooklyn trio sings beautiful, heartfelt, impeccably harmonized folk-pop songs.

9. Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill

2013-03-11

Watch one of the best fiddlers on the planet and a subtle guitar master work their magic.

10. Efterklang

2013-04-08

The Danish band ransacks the NPR Music offices looking for sound-making material and new ideas.

11. Yo La Tengo

2013-04-15

To coincide with the release of the band's 13th album, Fade, Yo La Tengo performs an acoustic set.

12. Omar Sosa & Paolo Fresu

2013-04-22

The duo's quietly energetic performance hangs over the the NPR Music offices like a soft mist.

13. Father Figures

2013-04-29

Zany, brainy and danceable, these guys' music mixes rock and jazz like King Crimson at its fiercest.

14. Nicola Benedetti

2013-05-06

Watch the violinist spin out music by John Williams and Bach in sweet, soulful tendrils of sound.

15. Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale

2013-05-13

The veteran country players mix corny humor, musical merrymaking and timeless vocal harmonies.

16. Mohammad Reza Shajarian

2013-05-20

The 73-year-old Iranian icon unleashes torrents of swooping, soaring sound that elicit goosebumps.

17. Imani Winds

2013-05-29

Imani Winds' members shrink Igor Stravinsky down to size in a quintet take on The Rite of Spring.

18. OK Go

2013-06-03

OK Go helps us transport the Tiny Desk from NPR Music's old headquarters to our new facility.

19. The National

2013-06-10

Watch the band perform acoustic arrangements of four songs from its new album, Trouble Will Find Me.

20. NO BS! Brass Band

2013-06-15

An 11-piece brass band turns up the funk and flies the flag high for its native Richmond, Va.

21. Billy Bragg

2013-06-17

One of the world's finest folksingers channels the spirit of Woody Guthrie at the NPR Music offices.

22. Patty Griffin

2013-06-24

Watch the singer-songwriter and her band perform three songs from her fine new album, American Kid.

23. Maya Beiser

2013-06-29

A brilliant cellist with a stunning command of her instrument, Beiser performs at the NPR offices.

24. Laura Mvula

2013-07-01

The U.K. singer performs some of her most intimate material in a short set at the NPR Music offices.

25. Cheick Hamala Diabate

2013-07-06

The Malian musician and his band craft melodies and rhythms that cut across age and ethnicity.

26. Skinny Lister

2013-07-08

The rowdy English folk-punk band brings its barely controlled mayhem to the NPR Music offices.

27. Frank Turner

2013-07-13

Two men with unplugged instruments convey the bawdy rowdiness of a full band.

28. Alice Russell

2013-07-15

When the British singer performs, her emotionally fiery music just gets hotter and grittier.

29. Cheyenne Mize

2013-07-20

The singer, instrumentalist and music therapist plays slinky, forceful songs at NPR Music.

30. Guards

2013-07-22

Hear three sturdy pop songs from In Guards We Trust, performed live at the NPR Music offices.

31. Time For Three

2013-07-27

Hear the "classically trained garage band" perform with staggering technique and contagious energy.

32. Dana Falconberry

2013-07-29

Watch Falconberry and five bandmates perform three delicate songs from her recent album Leelanau.

33. Keaton Henson

2013-08-03 · 14m

Henson's voice is so fragile and hushed, if you were 10 feet away from him you'd barely hear a peep.

34. Jim Guthrie

2013-08-10

Guthrie and his band drove 18 hours round-trip from Ontario to perform three songs for NPR Music.

35. Alpine

2013-08-12

The Australian sextet crafts busily impeccable, harmony-intensive pop music with a danceable sway.

36. Mother Falcon

2013-08-17

The 17-member chamber-rock collective uses its size in the service of great, snappy, stirring songs.

37. The Front Bottoms

2013-08-19

The community that's formed around The Front Bottoms speaks to the band's passion and compassion.

38. Buika

2013-08-26

Concha Buika's voice comes from Africa and the past. Watch her perform in the NPR Music offices.

39. Steve Gunn

2013-08-31

Watch Gunn's trio perform a set of hypnotic long-form jams that are perfect for taking it easy.

40. Baths

2013-09-04

Watch Baths' Will Wiesenfeld perform mysterious, textured electronic music in the NPR offices.

41. Bombino

2013-09-07

For our 300th Tiny Desk Concert, we showcase a Tuareg guitarist's fierce, hypnotic, alluring jams.

42. The 1975

2013-09-10

Performing solo, singer Matthew Healy doesn't hesitate to transform both his songs and himself.

43. Arturo O'Farrill

2013-09-14

With an eye on both the past and the future, O'Farrill has jazz and Afro-Cuban music in his DNA.

44. Shovels & Rope

2013-09-16

The husband-and-wife duo mixes rowdy folk-rock and rootsy ballads, with the help of a canine friend.

45. The Cristina Pato Trio

2013-09-21

A Galician bagpiper and her trio take Celtic sounds in an entirely wild and wonderful direction.

46. Hem

2013-09-28

Hem makes a homey, fireside kind of music, with songs that feel as if they've always been there.

47. Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi

2013-09-30

The Zimbabwean legend performs songs from the mournful but celebratory Sarawoga for NPR Music.

48. Lawrence Brownlee

2013-10-05

The operatic tenor, acclaimed for his Rossini, circles back to his roots as a singer of spirituals.

49. Superchunk

2013-10-07

Watch the venerable band translate its electric sound to acoustic instruments in an intimate way.

50. Valerie June

2013-10-12

Short of seeing her live and in person, this is the best way to encounter June's heartfelt sound.

51. Okkervil River

2013-10-15

The band performs three songs from a record inspired by the childhood of singer Will Sheff.

52. Matt Ulery's Loom

2013-10-19

The bassist composes beautiful, unpretentious music for an unusual jazz band with accordion.

53. Daughter

2013-10-21

Pretty and melancholy, the Londoners' music conjures a perfect mix of gloom, desire and hostility.

54. Typhoon

2013-10-26

The dozen members of this Portland, Ore. band crammed behind the Tiny Desk for a transcendent set.

55. San Fermin

2013-10-28

The orchestral folk-pop band's little song-worlds burst with ambition, talent and extreme joy.

56. Neko Case

2013-10-31

Watch a Halloween Tiny Desk Concert in which Case performs with Kelly Hogan and Eric Bachmann.

57. Ashley Monroe

2013-11-03

This three-song set in the NPR Music offices captures a nice cross-section of Monroe's appeal.

58. Gary Burton

2013-11-09

The jazz vibraphone pioneer is 70 now, but that hasn't slowed his flying four-mallet technique.

59. Debashish Bhattacharya

2013-11-12

Bhattacharya draws on North Indian classical music, but blues also pours out of his stunning work.

60. John Legend

2013-11-16

The soul singer retains the easygoing grace of a performer fit for any stage — even a tiny one.

61. Waxahatchee

2013-11-23

This is Katie Crutchfield as Waxahatchee, playing intimate music for an intimate setting.

62. Kronos Quartet

2013-11-25

The intrepid champions of new music bring a lullaby, rare blues and a work by Bryce Dessner to NPR.

63. The Dismemberment Plan

2013-12-02

The band exudes playfulness and wry charm throughout these three songs from Uncanney Valley.

64. Sarah Jarosz

2013-12-07

Jarosz and her small backing band craft a careful mix of technical proficiency and poppy warmth.

65. Dessa

2013-12-09

The whip-smart rapper, singer, poet and songwriter performs three tracks from Parts of Speech.

66. Christine Salem

2013-12-14

Salem sings work songs and chants from the maloya tradition on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.

67. La Santa Cecilia

2013-12-16

The video here provides just a hint of the L.A. band's dynamic live shows, albeit a spectacular one.

68. Preservation Hall Jazz Band

2013-12-21

The hot and historic New Orleans band brings a tuba-wielding Santa and some original holiday cheer.