I recently found this great series on YouTube called NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. These concerts are basically 5-15 minute acoustic sessions done by up and coming artists and bands in a little corner of the NPR’s office building. I find these videos different and more entertaining than any other music sessions because all of the performances seem really intimate, since there are only around 150 people in the audience, and I love their selection of bands. They bring in pop favorites, indie bands, singer songwriters and even world music stars to play one or two of their songs.
Here are some of my favorite NPR Tiny Desk Concerts
St. Paul and the Broken Bones
Maybe I am a bit biased when it comes to jazz music but this set was amazing. The lead singer, Paul Janeway’s voice was soulful, powerful and incredibly charming. The whole band had a very strong presence, but their performance still felt intimate and very real.
Keaton Henson
This performance was not my first time hearing Keaton’s music. Being a long time fan, I was so happy to find a live performance of his and he felt very at ease. This singer songwriter suffers from social anxiety and depression, so I was shocked to see him so open to converse an share his feelings. Although his music is fairly simple, and he isn’t the best singer, his presence is so full of emotions, good and bad, and his lyrics are compelling. This was by far one of my favorite performances I have watched.
Jake Bugg
Although his stage presence isn’t great, Jake Bugg’s unique voice and catchy folk tunes that go back to the roots like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan make up for it. For only being 19 years old, this kid is incredibly talented and has a big career ahead of him. I only knew a few of his songs before watching his Tiny Desk Concert but by the end, I had downloaded both of his albums and I encourage you to do the same.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Macklemore is not my favorite artist, and rap is definitely not my preferred genre; this performance was still great. His energy was great throughout the whole performance and he is very powerful when he needs to be conveying a serious message. You can feel his passion in his dancing, the way he carries himself and interacts with the audience.
featured image source