The Phish star was in town to put on a huge show, but the songs here feel more personal than that.

The producer presides over an all-instrumental, free-form trio with Brian Blade and Jim Wilson.

Even without its confetti cannon, the band brings a fun mix of brass and brash to the NPR offices.

The Nashville singer writes with acidic wit in lines worthy of his old mentor, Shel Silverstein.

Reilly sings and plays guitar alongside Tom Brosseau and Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark.

With 23 members, the performance-art marching band is the biggest ever to play the Tiny Desk.

The band strips down its electronic sound with the aid of a spaghetti strainer and a paint bucket.

With her huge voice and an assist on trombone, Nika Roza Danilova offers up a curious combination.

The Tiny Desk becomes a DJ booth for an office space dance party.

The Wisconsin band performs three of its warm, accessible songs in the NPR Music offices.

Aurelio weaves intricate layers of acoustic guitar to capture the feel of African and the Caribbean.

The singer beat out nearly 7,000 other submissions to win NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest.

The duo plays visionary Beethoven, heartbreaking Janáček and Glass that unfolds like a lullaby.

Before the wide-ranging band plays, the audience sings "Happy Birthday" to mandolinist Chris Thile.

The a cappella quartet, with banjo and fiddle, offers popular songs from the Civil War era.

Performed softly in the light of day, these three songs feel fresh and lovable.

In a beautifully stark performance, the band plays two songs from Kintsugi and two older favorites.

James Snyder's euphoric punk anthems become raw and uplifting confessionals in this acoustic set.

Stokes' songs feel familiar; they're old friends before you're done hearing them for the first time.

The singer's lyrics reflect deeply felt emotions in this performance with cellist Daniel de Jesus.

The young English singer brings warmth to electronic music and a swooning quality to her own pop.

The Ukrainian acoustic quartet's music encompasses sounds and rhythms from around the world.

This soft-spoken Swedish singer left an imprint at the Tiny Desk that was gentle and long lasting.

The singer has been called "the Sinatra of flamenco." His expressive style draws on jazz.

Iyer's working band transforms selections from throughout the pianist's deep and varied catalog.

Found objects are percussion instruments in the hands of a man who's part musician, part magician.

These are enchanting songs, with the power to drift in your head for days.

A star in his native Portugal, Camané evokes melancholy with a silky baritone and elegant phrasing.

Intense, hip-hop-infused poetry is reduced to just the essentials in this two-song, four-minute set.

Watch the Grammy-winning guitarist and acclaimed harpist play music influenced by Africa and Asia.

The mother-son duo's songs are memorable and singable even days after you hear them.

A young man with an old musical soul has a spellbinding voice and fluid fiddle playing.

See a singer with a powerful voice and extremely encouraging message.

If you've never thought your tastes would lean to mountain music, breathe deep and soak it all in.

The clever trio shares its love of everything from Law & Order to old-school girl groups.

Timothy Showalter's music is filled with bite and sometimes regret, but also a good deal of warmth.

Frances Quinlan's raspy voice whispers one moment, then lets loose a gut-punching howl the next.

The charismatic Brooklyn-via-D.C.-area rapper creates just the right amount of space in his music.

The trio's music is full of life, with dissonant sounds that still feel suited for singalongs.

Best witnessed live, Stelling's music is steeped in tradition yet filled with vitality and soul.

The charming duo performs three of the simple, direct songs from Before The World Was Big.

See a Malian band that fuses African music with Western rock.

A celebrated English playwright and rapper deploys storytelling and poetry.

See the beloved Britpop veteran perform songs from his new album, Saturns Pattern.

The singer's disco-infused funk and soul gets stripped down to a lone voice with a guitar.

Irish singer-songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson makes the most of a single voice and an acoustic guitar.

The New Orleans trumpeter's funky new band creates dance music to ward off despair.

Mackenzie Scott's music channels Patti Smith and PJ Harvey while hinting at further growth.

The Philly rock band's big-hearted songs are stripped down to a few guitars and a MiniKorg.

The country singer plays four songs from Pageant Material, plus the set-closing "Follow Your Arrow."

The trio blows up its sound by adding off-duty, civilian horn players from the U.S. Marine Band.

Rose plays music as if she's just met her new best friend: It's fresh, fun and enthusiastic.

There's lighthearted, almost childlike beauty in the way Gabrielle Smith puts words to song.

Mitski's music is dark and even scary, but glimmers of beauty peek through.

If you're a fan of dark, incredibly dry, wry humor, you've just found Happyness.

Bridges is easy to love and hard to resist, with purity in his voice that's untouched by modern pop.

The singer found his voice by finding and preserving old British, Irish and Scottish folk songs.

With help from Fiona Apple, two Nickel Creek alums gather a band to perform old and new songs.

The Austin singer-songwriter performs with intense openness, directness and warmth.

As technology rules the day, here's a reminder that a single voice can carry deep emotion.

The R&B band might just be the oddest thing to come from the hip-hop collective Odd Future.

The singer is soulful yet playful, raw and vulnerable in a commanding kind of way.

She came so close to winning NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest, we just had to see her play.

The trumpeter presents his emotionally charged, jazz-hybridized "stretch music" in performance.

Day's songs feel candid and vulnerable, but not understated.

The band's clever, thoughtful music fits in everywhere from Nashville to its hometown of Melbourne.

The Sardinian guitarist has a whole toy shop aboard his instrument.

In Beauty Pill, life whirs with plunderphonic glee and riffs are funky from the inside out.

The 10-piece band can barely fit all its horns, guitars, percussion and energy behind one desk.

Conjuring David Bowie, Diane Coffee's Shaun Fleming swaggered and shimmied behind the Tiny Desk.

With his wife Morgane, the country singer-songwriter sings patient, detailed songs of devotion.

My bubba is a duo of women whose quirky, delicate, sweetly sung folk songs are a delight.

At 19 and on the cusp of her first album, the Norwegian singer performs with a sense of discovery.

The oud player's wordless music tells powerful stories about life's blessedness and fragility.

At the Tiny Desk, Rateliff's body-shaking Southern-style soul takes on a more laid-back sound.

Great singers aren't easy to come by, so finding three in one band is something special.

Trevor Powers' new songs are expansive and self-assured, a transition reflected in this performance.

Hear a young conductor, composer and pianist play Beethoven and his own jazzy pieces.

The Detroit band's loud, screeching, grousing rock can be profound, poetic and bewildering.

The nine-piece band bursts with anthemic joy, even as its songs convey darkness and loneliness.

The Denver band's mysteriously swirling music is singular, new and adventurous.

When the singer breaks out his guitar and suitcase drum, a rush of adrenaline hits the room.

A modernistic bluesman with a taste for electronics appears with just his acoustic guitar.

Watch the soul star perform "Silent Night" and two originals — one for Christmas, one for Hanukkah.