Season 2015

2015 · 84 episodes · 0h 15m in all

1. Trey Anastasio
5 Jan 2015
The Phish star was in town to put on a huge show, but the songs here feel more personal than that.
2. Daniel Lanois
3 Jan 2015
The producer presides over an all-instrumental, free-form trio with Brian Blade and Jim Wilson.
3. Rubblebucket
20 Jan 2015
Even without its confetti cannon, the band brings a fun mix of brass and brash to the NPR offices.
4. Bobby Bare Jr.
27 Jan 2015
The Nashville singer writes with acidic wit in lines worthy of his old mentor, Shel Silverstein.
5. John Reilly & Friends
3 Feb 2015
Reilly sings and plays guitar alongside Tom Brosseau and Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark.
6. Mucca Pazza
10 Feb 2015
With 23 members, the performance-art marching band is the biggest ever to play the Tiny Desk.
7. Until The Ribbon Breaks
17 Feb 2015
The band strips down its electronic sound with the aid of a spaghetti strainer and a paint bucket.
8. Zola Jesus
23 Feb 2015
With her huge voice and an assist on trombone, Nika Roza Danilova offers up a curious combination.
9. Dan Deacon
25 Feb 2015
The Tiny Desk becomes a DJ booth for an office space dance party.
10. Phox
2 Mar 2015
The Wisconsin band performs three of its warm, accessible songs in the NPR Music offices.
11. Aurelio
7 Mar 2015
Aurelio weaves intricate layers of acoustic guitar to capture the feel of African and the Caribbean.
12. Fantastic Negrito
9 Mar 2015
The singer beat out nearly 7,000 other submissions to win NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest.
13. Matt Haimovitz & Christopher O'Riley
14 Mar 2015
The duo plays visionary Beethoven, heartbreaking Janáček and Glass that unfolds like a lullaby.
14. Punch Brothers
16 Mar 2015
Before the wide-ranging band plays, the audience sings "Happy Birthday" to mandolinist Chris Thile.
15. Anonymous 4 With Bruce Molsky
28 Mar 2015
The a cappella quartet, with banjo and fiddle, offers popular songs from the Civil War era.
16. Sylvan Esso
20 Mar 2015
Performed softly in the light of day, these three songs feel fresh and lovable.
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17. Death Cab For Cutie
6 Apr 2015
In a beautifully stark performance, the band plays two songs from Kintsugi and two older favorites.
18. Beach Slang
10 Apr 2015
James Snyder's euphoric punk anthems become raw and uplifting confessionals in this acoustic set.
19. Chadwick Stokes
13 Apr 2015
Stokes' songs feel familiar; they're old friends before you're done hearing them for the first time.
20. Rosa Díaz
17 Apr 2015
The singer's lyrics reflect deeply felt emotions in this performance with cellist Daniel de Jesus.
21. Jessie Ware
20 Apr 2015
The young English singer brings warmth to electronic music and a swooning quality to her own pop.
22. DakhaBrakha
25 Apr 2015
The Ukrainian acoustic quartet's music encompasses sounds and rhythms from around the world.
23. José González
29 Apr 2015
This soft-spoken Swedish singer left an imprint at the Tiny Desk that was gentle and long lasting.
24. Diego El Cigala
1 May 2015
The singer has been called "the Sinatra of flamenco." His expressive style draws on jazz.
25. Vijay Iyer Trio
4 May 2015
Iyer's working band transforms selections from throughout the pianist's deep and varied catalog.
26. Eskmo
8 May 2015
Found objects are percussion instruments in the hands of a man who's part musician, part magician.
27. Bellows
11 May 2015
These are enchanting songs, with the power to drift in your head for days.
28. Camané
15 May 2015
A star in his native Portugal, Camané evokes melancholy with a silky baritone and elegant phrasing.
29. Young Fathers
19 May 2015
Intense, hip-hop-infused poetry is reduced to just the essentials in this two-song, four-minute set.
30. Jason Vieaux And Yolanda Kondonassis
22 May 2015
Watch the Grammy-winning guitarist and acclaimed harpist play music influenced by Africa and Asia.
31. Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear
26 May 2015
The mother-son duo's songs are memorable and singable even days after you hear them.
32. Frank Fairfield
29 May 2015
A young man with an old musical soul has a spellbinding voice and fluid fiddle playing.
33. Genevieve
1 Jun 2015
See a singer with a powerful voice and extremely encouraging message.
34. Anna & Elizabeth
8 Jun 2015
If you've never thought your tastes would lean to mountain music, breathe deep and soak it all in.
35. The Prettiots
15 Jun 2015
The clever trio shares its love of everything from Law & Order to old-school girl groups.
36. Strand Of Oaks
19 Jun 2015
Timothy Showalter's music is filled with bite and sometimes regret, but also a good deal of warmth.
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37. Hop Along
22 Jun 2015
Frances Quinlan's raspy voice whispers one moment, then lets loose a gut-punching howl the next.
38. Oddisee
26 Jun 2015
The charismatic Brooklyn-via-D.C.-area rapper creates just the right amount of space in his music.
39. And The Kids
30 Jun 2015
The trio's music is full of life, with dissonant sounds that still feel suited for singalongs.
40. Christopher Paul Stelling
6 Jul 2015
Best witnessed live, Stelling's music is steeped in tradition yet filled with vitality and soul.
41. Girlpool
10 Jul 2015
The charming duo performs three of the simple, direct songs from Before The World Was Big.
42. Songhoy Blues
17 Jul 2015
See a Malian band that fuses African music with Western rock.
43. Kate Tempest
21 Jul 2015
A celebrated English playwright and rapper deploys storytelling and poetry.
44. Paul Weller
28 Jul 2015
See the beloved Britpop veteran perform songs from his new album, Saturns Pattern.
45. Shamir
31 Jul 2015
The singer's disco-infused funk and soul gets stripped down to a lone voice with a guitar.
46. SOAK
3 Aug 2015
Irish singer-songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson makes the most of a single voice and an acoustic guitar.
47. Terence Blanchard Feat. The E-Collective
5 Aug 2015
The New Orleans trumpeter's funky new band creates dance music to ward off despair.
48. Torres
10 Aug 2015
Mackenzie Scott's music channels Patti Smith and PJ Harvey while hinting at further growth.
49. Restorations
14 Aug 2015
The Philly rock band's big-hearted songs are stripped down to a few guitars and a MiniKorg.
50. Kacey Musgraves
17 Aug 2015
The country singer plays four songs from Pageant Material, plus the set-closing "Follow Your Arrow."
51. Son Lux
21 Aug 2015
The trio blows up its sound by adding off-duty, civilian horn players from the U.S. Marine Band.
52. Caroline Rose
24 Aug 2015
Rose plays music as if she's just met her new best friend: It's fresh, fun and enthusiastic.
53. Eskimeaux
28 Aug 2015
There's lighthearted, almost childlike beauty in the way Gabrielle Smith puts words to song.
54. Mitski
31 Aug 2015
Mitski's music is dark and even scary, but glimmers of beauty peek through.
55. Happyness
4 Sept 2015
If you're a fan of dark, incredibly dry, wry humor, you've just found Happyness.
56. Leon Bridges
8 Sept 2015
Bridges is easy to love and hard to resist, with purity in his voice that's untouched by modern pop.
57. Sam Lee
11 Sept 2015
The singer found his voice by finding and preserving old British, Irish and Scottish folk songs.
58. Watkins Family Hour
18 Sept 2015
With help from Fiona Apple, two Nickel Creek alums gather a band to perform old and new songs.
59. Gina Chavez
22 Sept 2015
The Austin singer-songwriter performs with intense openness, directness and warmth.
60. Joan Shelley
25 Sept 2015
As technology rules the day, here's a reminder that a single voice can carry deep emotion.
61. The Internet
29 Sept 2015
The R&B band might just be the oddest thing to come from the hip-hop collective Odd Future.
62. Lianne La Havas
2 Oct 2015
The singer is soulful yet playful, raw and vulnerable in a commanding kind of way.
63. Deqn Sue
5 Oct 2015
She came so close to winning NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest, we just had to see her play.
64. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
9 Oct 2015
The trumpeter presents his emotionally charged, jazz-hybridized "stretch music" in performance.
65. Andra Day
13 Oct 2015
Day's songs feel candid and vulnerable, but not understated.
66. Oh Pep!
16 Oct 2015
The band's clever, thoughtful music fits in everywhere from Nashville to its hometown of Melbourne.
67. Paolo Angeli
19 Oct 2015
The Sardinian guitarist has a whole toy shop aboard his instrument.
68. Beauty Pill
23 Oct 2015
In Beauty Pill, life whirs with plunderphonic glee and riffs are funky from the inside out.
69. The Suffers
27 Oct 2015
The 10-piece band can barely fit all its horns, guitars, percussion and energy behind one desk.
70. Diane Coffee
2 Nov 2015
Conjuring David Bowie, Diane Coffee's Shaun Fleming swaggered and shimmied behind the Tiny Desk.
71. Chris Stapleton
5 Nov 2015 · 15 min
With his wife Morgane, the country singer-songwriter sings patient, detailed songs of devotion.
72. My bubba
6 Nov 2015
My bubba is a duo of women whose quirky, delicate, sweetly sung folk songs are a delight.
73. Aurora
9 Nov 2015
At 19 and on the cusp of her first album, the Norwegian singer performs with a sense of discovery.
74. Rahim AlHaj
13 Nov 2015
The oud player's wordless music tells powerful stories about life's blessedness and fragility.
75. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
17 Nov 2015
At the Tiny Desk, Rateliff's body-shaking Southern-style soul takes on a more laid-back sound.
76. The Wild Reeds
20 Nov 2015
Great singers aren't easy to come by, so finding three in one band is something special.
77. Youth Lagoon
23 Nov 2015
Trevor Powers' new songs are expansive and self-assured, a transition reflected in this performance.
78. Teddy Abrams
30 Nov 2015
Hear a young conductor, composer and pianist play Beethoven and his own jazzy pieces.
79. Protomartyr
4 Dec 2015
The Detroit band's loud, screeching, grousing rock can be profound, poetic and bewildering.
80. The Oh Hellos
8 Dec 2015
The nine-piece band bursts with anthemic joy, even as its songs convey darkness and loneliness.
81. Land Lines
11 Dec 2015
The Denver band's mysteriously swirling music is singular, new and adventurous.
82. Shakey Graves
14 Dec 2015
When the singer breaks out his guitar and suitcase drum, a rush of adrenaline hits the room.
83. Son Little
18 Dec 2015
A modernistic bluesman with a taste for electronics appears with just his acoustic guitar.
84. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
21 Dec 2015
Watch the soul star perform "Silent Night" and two originals — one for Christmas, one for Hanukkah.