For nearly 30 years, Kirk Franklin has been widely regarded for revolutionizing gospel. He incorporated secular music, particularly hip-hop, while preserving the message and integrity of traditional gospel. Here, he and his powerhouse choir pace through a decades-long, sixteen Grammy award winning discography of faith, praise and encouragement while cracking plenty of Read More
Candles and books rest on a trunk at the bottom right corner of the wide shot. There, too, are special photographs of alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins with family in his childhood home in Philadelphia. "One of the brightest things about this pandemic was going home to spend time with my mother, father and grandmother after being on the road for a while," Wilkins told NPR Read More
NPR Music’s Tiny Desk series will celebrate Black History Month by featuring four weeks of Tiny Desk (home) concerts and playlists by Black artists spanning different genres and generations each… Continue Reading Melanie Read More
These half-dozen short pieces can offer two very different modes of experience. Shot in artful black and white, their simplicity and beauty invite us into a world as we once knew it, where fresh air wafts through open doors and dogs peacefully snooze (canine cameos by Evie and Haku) in the late summer sunshine in southern England. Read More
Thirty feet below the surface in Brooklyn, 10th grader Nora Brown brings incredible, surprising depth to the Appalachian music she plays. Over the course of her Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST concert, surrounded by innumerable globes and instruments, she infuses new life and energy into the traditional songs of Addie Graham, Virgil Anderson and Fred Cockerham. Read More
This Algerian and Canadian band proves that music has no boundaries even in times of isolation. Recording its set from France and Colombia, Labess blends flamenco and Gypsy jazz-influenced North African chaabi into energetic soul music with a nonstop beat. Read More
From a stunning room overlooking the San Gabriel Mountains in Pasadena, Calif., we hear the ethereal sounds of Active Child. "I chose this space, as this is where I've written nearly every piece of music for my active child project. my music and this house / this view are completely intertwined." Read More
For this Tiny Desk (home) concert, we pay a visit to the doctor's office. Actually, the venue is called Rare Violins of New York and it's something of a second home to cellist Jan Vogler, who pops in frequently to have the experts give his 1708 Stradivarius cello a thorough checkup. Read More
The humorous side of Beethoven's personality seeps into his music, such as the false stops and musical giggles that fuel his two-minute-long Presto from the Quartet Op. 130, which opens this performance. For contrast, the Borromeos follow with a serious movement from later on in the same piece, the prayerful Cavatina, which Beethoven said even got him choked up. Read More
The talented Canadian composer and songwriter creates an ensemble in their bedroom for our Tiny Desk quarantine series. Continue Reading Owen Pallett Layers Instruments, Voice And His Own Story For An NPR Tiny Desk Read More
A trio of musicians gather at Aaron Copland's longtime home. Watch them play the iconic American composer's music at his own piano and beside his own writing desk. Continue Reading Music Of ‘America’s Composer’ Read More
The pop-meet-classical duo perform a quarantine concert from their New York City apartment. Continue Reading Pop Plus Classical Equals One Beautiful Tiny Desk (Home) Concert From Gracie And RachelRead More
Global superstar Ozuna performs five songs in quarantine for Tiny Desk. For someone whose work often operates at galactic proportions, this performance of five songs makes room for Ozuna's sweet tenor to take center-desk in a love letter to the global communities that supported and streamed him to god tier status. Read More
Americana music's most famous couple perform a Tiny Desk quarantine set in their barn, backed by gorgeous stain-glassed windows. Continue Reading Jason Isbell And Amanda Shires Hit Their Barn For An Emotional Tiny Desk Read More
One of the British jazz scene's rising stars performs a quarantine concert on the River Thames. Nubya Garcia's (home) concert took place on a boat — a first in Tiny Desk history — because she was in between homes. Continue Reading Nubya Garcia Read More
The quartet, known colloquially as Goat Rodeo, jammed out from four different homes in this Tiny Desk quarantine performance. Continue Reading Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer And Chris Thile Combine For A Tiny Desk Read More
The platinum-selling, low-key superstar performs a solo set at her piano for Tiny Desk's quarantine series. Continue Reading Norah Jones Keeps The Music Tastefully Spare In A Tiny Desk (Home) ConcertRead More
Watch the rising young pianist, in a final performance from his Berlin home, make the case for two seemingly disparate French composers born nearly 200 years apart. Continue Reading Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson Sits At The Read More
Host Ari Shapiro talks with Linda Diaz, the winner of this year's NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest. Her entry, "Green Tea Ice Cream" is a dreamy R&B song anchored by her skilled and soulful voice. Continue Reading Meet Linda Diaz, The Winner Of NPR’s Read More
Sudan Archives draws inspiration from Irish and African traditional music. Watch her channel both in this Tiny Desk concert. Continue Reading Sudan Archives, A Truly Singular Artist, Entertains With Plenty Of Strings Read More
The cast and musicians of the hit Broadway musical Hadestown pack into the Tiny Desk for a truly glorious performance of its greatest songs. Continue Reading Pre-Pandemic, Cast Of Broadway Musical ‘Hadestown’ Read More
Watch the pianist reimagine old spirituals and songs of freedom that continue to resonate in new ways. Continue Reading Normally Collaborative, Pianist Lara Downes Gets Intimate At A Tiny Desk (Home) ConcertRead More
Grammy-winning fiddler Augustin Hadelich brings one of the finest violins in the world to the Tiny Desk. Continue Reading Violinist Augustin Hadelich Brings His Extraordinary Instrument And Skills To NPR’s Tiny Read More
John Fogerty plays three Creedence Clearwater Revival classics with some help from his family for his Tiny Desk home concert. Continue Reading Fogerty’s Factory Is An Essential Business As John Fogerty + Read More
Watch the superstar pianist at home in Shanghai, China, play a soothing Chopin Nocturne and Bach you can dance to. Continue Reading Pianist Lang Lang Gives A Tiny Desk (Home) Concert To Reflect On Trying TimesRead More
Soul singer Allen Stone demonstrated a commitment to the Tiny Desk that we rarely, if ever, see. Continue Reading Inland Northwest Native Allen Stone Heads To ‘The Other Washington’ To Serenade Read More
The band from Havana brings its intoxicating mix of Afro-Cuban dance music and 1970s funk-and-soul to the Tiny Desk. Continue Reading Cimafunk Struts ‘An Intoxicating Mix Of Afro-Cuban Dance Music’ At NPR’s Tiny Read More
At 25, she mixes the bluesy melisma of Nina Simone and the deep register of Sarah Vaughan — two of her influences — with songwriting as devastating as her delivery. Continue Reading Baby Rose Goes Vintage, Unadulterated, ‘Almost Read More
The Atlanta-based band came to NPR in a van packed with a bodhrán (Irish drum), an ngoni (West African harp) a huge gourd, a cello, a baritone guitar and more. Continue Reading Rising Appalachia Shines, Shows Read More
The eclectic composer joins members of the ACME ensemble for some of his most affecting music, which moves the audience to tears. Continue Reading Max Richter Brings Achingly Beautiful Compositions ‘On The Read More
Watch the celebrated opera star deconstruct old Italian love songs with her signature flair, backed by a crack jazz ensemble. Continue Reading Opera Star Joyce DiDonato Jazzes Up Classical Songs With Spontaneity Read More
The irrepressible harpist proves that the instrument can be as tempestuous as a tango, as complex as a Bach fugue and sing as serenely as a church choir. Continue Reading Harpist Bridget Kibbey Brings Blistering Bach And Jazzy Read More
Spanglish Fly is one of the pioneers of the boogaloo revival scene happening on the East Coast. For about sixteen minutes, they turned the NPR Music offices into the hottest Latin dance club in D.C. Continue Reading Spanglish Fly Read More
The Comet is Coming is a force of nature. The British trio's approach to the Tiny Desk was ferocious. Shabaka Hutchings, aka King Shabaka, blew his sax hard while his effects pedal added reverb, expanding not only his sound but altering the office and making it a little eerier. Read More
The insightful pianist offers a Beethoven bonanza, ranging from the mesmerizing pulse of the popular "Moonlight" Sonata to flashes of wry humor and tender beauty. Continue Reading Pianist Igor Levit Slips ‘Into The Beethoven Read More
The band couldn't afford instruments. So they made their own out of scavenged items, like kitchen pots and air-conditioner parts. On their U.S. tour, they stopped by NPR's Tiny Desk. Continue Reading Congo’s KOKOKO! Makes Joyful Dance Read More
The Alabama Shakes singer and guitarist brought an eight-piece backing band to the Tiny Desk for a set of deeply personal and affecting songs. Continue Reading Brittany Howard Brings Commitment And Passion To NPR’s Tiny Desk Read More
Roseanne Cash has been making great records for forty years, but she's never played or written better music than she's doing right now. Continue Reading Rosanne Cash Brings Fire And Ice For NPR Tiny Desk ConcertRead More
In his second visit to the Tiny Desk, Josh Ritter had America on his mind. "We all have to fight against this notion that we're not all human beings." Continue Reading Moscow, Idaho Native Josh Ritter Brings Enthusiasm And Read More
The spirit of Cab Calloway lives on in Masego, the singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist who surprised NPR's Tiny Desk audience with a zany sense of showmanship. Continue Reading Masego Brings The Spirit Of Cab Calloway To NPR’s Read More
Watch a young cellist on the rise, offering music of virtuosity, sweet lyricism and a little fire from his Persian roots. Continue Reading Cellist Kian Soltani Plays With Authority And Poetry For NPR’s Tiny Desk Read More
NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks with Adrian Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd and Regina Strayhorn, members of the band Bandits on the Run and stand-out entrants in this year's Tiny Desk Contest. Continue Reading Bandits On The Run Band Brings Read More
Hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, Christopherson is a thoughtful songwriter with a powerful sense of perspective. Continue Reading Don’t ‘Erase Me’ Says Quinn Christopherson In Winning NPR’s 2019 Tiny Desk Read More
Amy Grant maps her fabulous, four-decade career with some of her coziest and heartfelt Christmas songs, not to mention a delightful version of "Jingle Bells." Continue Reading Tiny Desk Concert: Amy Grant Shines In Normal Read More
If the celebrated cellist could soundtrack his life, the music would be J.S. Bach's six Cello Suites. Yo-Yo Ma explains why they mean the world to him while he played the music at the NPR offices. Continue Reading NPR Tiny Desk Concert: Yo-Yo Ma’s Life Read More
Join Gillian Coldsnow and Anjuli Dodhia as they host concerts at Lake Chelan Bach Fest and Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival. NWPB will be out and about this summer and… Continue Reading Anjuli And Gillian Read More
Sometimes frenetic, sometimes slow and luxurious, the grooves the band creates are the perfect cushion for Jenny Ball's impassioned singing and engaging stage presence. Continue Reading NPR Tiny Desk Concert: Jenny And The MexicatsRead More
Heynderickx — a Portland, Ore. songwriter and NPR Slingshot artist — entered the Contest three years in a row. She says the Contest has helped her musical career in ways she never expected. Continue Reading Read More
Send us a video of you or your band playing an original song behind a desk (any desk). You could win a chance to play your own Tiny Desk concert and tour the U.S. with NPR Music. Continue Reading Attention Music Makers: Announcing The 2018 NPR Tiny Desk ContestRead More
A screenshot of the Dublin Guitar Quartet’s Tiny Desk Concert at NPR. CREDIT TINY DESK CONCERTS / NPR We know you love guitar music. From Classical Guitar Alive (Sunday… Continue Reading Tiny Desk Concert Showcases A Guitar QuartetRead More