NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

Season 192008

Intimate musical performances, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

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10 Episodes

E01 Laura Gibson

Laura Gibson works through a handful of tenderhearted songs: two of them unreleased and two of them from her full-length debut, If You Come to Greet Me.

April 22, 2008

E02 Vic Chesnutt

When Athens, Ga., songwriter Vic Chesnutt was on tour in support of his album, “North Star Deserter,” he stopped by NPR to perform live at All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's desk. Chesnutt played five songs, including two entirely new ones.

June 5, 2008

E03 Sam Phillips

The music of Sam Phillips unfolds like perfect, miniature pop dramas. Of all her incarnations as a performer — first as a Christian singer, then as a pop singer — the current Sam Phillips is one of the most alluring. Phillips performs four songs from “Don't Do Anything.”

June 25, 2008

E04 Sera Cahoone

Sera Cahoone got her start playing drums for a few widely adored bands in the Pacific Northwest, most notably Band of Horses and the spell-checker-defying Carissa's Wierd. But her self-titled, self-released 2006 album marked her as a fully formed talent — a warm and inviting singer whose songs convey world-weariness and homespun grace.

July 10, 2008

E05 Thao Nguyen

Thao Nguyen makes captivating music. Her songs are raw and infectious, her voice has a distinctive swagger, and she's a remarkably nimble guitarist.

September 4, 2008

E06 Lambchop's Kurt Wagner

Kurt Wagner writes and sings beautiful songs with Lambchop, a hefty Nashville ensemble with a calm, restrained sound. When Kurt Wagner came by the office to play a Tiny Desk Concert, he came alone, with just an acoustic guitar, a stack of lyrics and his humble, good-natured sense of humor.

October 8, 2008

E07 Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog isn't an obvious choice for one of NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts. For one thing, it's a pretty big group, at least for the small space behind Bob Boilen's desk. The band's music can be pretty chaotic — loud and rumbling, with multiple instruments fighting to be heard. And singer Toby Leaman likes to belt out his vocals in a window-rattling, raspy growl.

October 20, 2008

E08 Jim White

Jim White is a storyteller first and a musician second. It's a kind of storytelling rooted in his own unusual history: He grew up in Florida in a deeply Pentecostal community and fell in love with the white gospel music he heard. But from there, White took a surprising path to becoming a full-time musician. He was a professional surfer, a boxer, a fashion model in Milan and a cab driver in New York City. White's travels recently took him to Washington, D.C., where he stopped by the offices of NPR Music for this live performance.

November 7, 2008

E09 Shearwater

A glorious four-song set that's at once pristine and ramshackle — equal parts clarity and clatter — not to mention one of our best Tiny Desk Concerts yet.

November 14, 2008

E10 David Dondero

He should be a name everyone knows by now. Instead, troubadour David Dondero returned to NPR having slept the night before in his car. Dondero travels from club to club, singing his well-crafted songs — songs that have his signature lyrics at their core. His lyrics can make you smile with their wit and hurt with their bite, all at the same time.

December 30, 2008

NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

E01 Laura Gibson

E02 Vic Chesnutt

E03 Sam Phillips

E04 Sera Cahoone

E05 Thao Nguyen

E06 Lambchop's Kurt Wagner

E07 Dr. Dog

E08 Jim White

E09 Shearwater

E10 David Dondero

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E01 Laura Gibson

E02 Vic Chesnutt

E03 Sam Phillips

E04 Sera Cahoone

E05 Thao Nguyen

E06 Lambchop's Kurt Wagner

E07 Dr. Dog

E08 Jim White

E09 Shearwater

E10 David Dondero