Tiny Desk Concerts (NPR Music) is awesome

Links: website, Youtube

It’s a tiny idea really, but amazingly executed. The tagline describes it best: Intimate video performances, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered Bob Boilen. I’ve been hooked on this for the past week or so; just wanted to share with y’all.

I found lots of familiar names, playing their hits. Even better, I also discovered a number of new bands & singers that I digged. Here’s a random sampling of some acts that I have watched till now.

John Legend
Adele
Foster The People
T-Pain
Macklemore
Hozier
Daughter
DakhaBrakha
The xx
Punch Brothers
Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi
Anonymous 4 & Bruce Molsky
Typhoon
Gary Burton & Justin Lage
Billy Bragg

Another awesome part of these concerts is the immediate intimacy between the performers and the audience, giving us many memorable moments. (Spoilering this list in case you want to keep the surprise.)

[ul]
[li] Elena’s (Daughter) “We are just completely awkward people” comment.[/li][li] Chris Thile’s (Punch Brothers) birthday cake, with a face wearing braces on it[/li][li] The story of John Legend’s ancestor being kidnapped back from freedom to slavery [/li][li] “Height night” (Typhoon)[/li][li] Billy Bragg being interrupted by a handyman working in an adjacent room[/li][/ul]

I am somewhat surprised that I am discovering the tiny desk concerts after so many years. A google search found only one mention of “tiny desk concert” in SDMB. Is this really a hidden gem, or have I been living under a rock all this time?

And, of course, share your favorite performances and moments.

I enjoy the ones I come across. Watching stuff like Punch Brothers - the super group of Bluegrass instrumentation - is an amazing lesson in musicianship. It’s kind of like a better episode of MTV Unplugged.

ETA: Chris Thile, the mandolinist and leader for Punch Brothers, won a MacArthur Genius grant. And that mandolin he is playing is '24 Gibson F-5 worth, oh, $250,000 minimum…

Didn’t know about MTV Unplugged (have seen MTV only in passing).

And thanks for the info on Thile. I liked their performance a lot. Let me check them out some more.

Lydia Loveless is one that fans of alt-country shouldn’t miss.

I know this is an old thread, but I also want to say that I really enjoy these. The setting for these concerts is intimate, and quality is superb, both audio and video. A few that I really like:

The Breeders

SsingSsing

Paul Weller did a nice one.

Randy Newman did one. He’s quite a bit older compared to his videos during MTV’s heyday, but still great.

Mac Miller
Tank and the Bangas
Anderson Paak
Gregory Porter
The Wild Reeds
Leon Bridges

I have been on some Tiny Desk deep dives. There are so many great ones.

2 of my faves :-
Roy Ayers and Tower of Power.

Gaelynn Lea

Rhiannon Giddens

Meg Myers

Oh, and I don’t think it’s a threadshit to mention a couple of similar concert series also on youtube - the KEXP radio and Paste Studio sessions.

Just as an e.g., here’s an early Skating Polly Paste session (they also have a later one)