NPR Tiny Desk Concerts Season 8, Episode 31: Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear

Trey Anastasio

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

Daniel Lanois

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

Rubblebucket

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

Bobby Bare Jr.

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

John Reilly & Friends

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

Mucca Pazza

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

Until The Ribbon Breaks

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

Zola Jesus

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

Dan Deacon

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

Phox

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

Aurelio

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

Fantastic Negrito

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

Matt Haimovitz & Christopher O'Riley

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

Punch Brothers

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

Anonymous 4 With Bruce Molsky

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

Sylvan Esso

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

Death Cab For Cutie

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

Beach Slang

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

Chadwick Stokes

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

Rosa Díaz

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

Jessie Ware

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

DakhaBrakha

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

José González

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

Diego El Cigala

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

Vijay Iyer Trio

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

Eskmo

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

Bellows

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

Camané

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

Young Fathers

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

Jason Vieaux And Yolanda Kondonassis

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

Frank Fairfield

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

Genevieve

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

Anna & Elizabeth

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

The Prettiots

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

Strand Of Oaks

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

Hop Along

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

Oddisee

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

And The Kids

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

Christopher Paul Stelling

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

Girlpool

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

Songhoy Blues

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

Kate Tempest

A celebrated English playwright and rapper deploys storytelling and poetry.

Paul Weller

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

Shamir

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

SOAK

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

Terence Blanchard Feat. The E-Collective

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

Torres

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

Restorations

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

Kacey Musgraves

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

Son Lux

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

Caroline Rose

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

Eskimeaux

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

Mitski

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

Happyness

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

Leon Bridges

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

Sam Lee

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

Watkins Family Hour

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

Gina Chavez

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

Joan Shelley

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

The Internet

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

Lianne La Havas

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

Deqn Sue

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

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah

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

Andra Day

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

Oh Pep!

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

Paolo Angeli

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

Beauty Pill

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

The Suffers

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

Diane Coffee

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

Chris Stapleton

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

15 min

My bubba

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

Aurora

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

Rahim AlHaj

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

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

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

The Wild Reeds

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

Youth Lagoon

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

Teddy Abrams

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

Protomartyr

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

The Oh Hellos

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

Land Lines

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

Shakey Graves

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

Son Little

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

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

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