Arborea

While clearly rooted in acoustic traditions, the folk music of Arborea stands out for its calm beauty and rough edges. The duo incorporates harmonium, electric guitars played with an EBow, and a Ban-Jammer — a hybrid instrument that's part banjo, part mountain dulcimer.

Pedro Soler and Gaspar Claus

The improvisational music of father and son Pedro Soler and Gaspar Claus functions as a beautiful conversation. Soler plays a delicate flamenco guitar, while Claus turns the cello into an exquisitely expressive voice. The two bring that spirit to their intimate performance in the NPR Music offices.

Kishi Bashi

K Ishibashi is a master of building his music from the ground up, from live violin loops to layered singing to beatboxing, in order to create pocket symphonies steeped in classical music and 21st-century pop. He brings that ingenuity and songcraft to the Tiny Desk at the NPR Music offices.

Endangered Blood

The Brooklyn jazz quartet began by playing benefit concerts for an ill friend, but the band soon realized it had potential for more. Endangered Blood's music draws from post-bop, 20th-century chromaticism and New Orleans funeral marches, showcasing compositions both cerebral and gritty.

Nathan Salsburg

With his brilliant debut, Affirmed, Salsburg is likely to become one of those names we all associate with American folk guitar. Here, he showcases his intricate and melodic fingerpicking in two instrumental songs inspired by the stories of racehorses from the Kentucky Derby.

Hospitality

The New York band Hospitality makes music that's unmistakably friendlyand welcoming — it's hug-and-a-handshake pop that lives up to its nameby jangling and chiming comfortably. The group doesn't overwhelm so muchas it wears listeners down with a subtle charm offensive.

Cowboy Junkies

Make a list of bands with integrity, still highly respected and still making music after 25 years, and that list will have Cowboy Junkies near the top. The band remains prolific, tender and poignant, as evidenced by this performance at the NPR Music offices.

Jolie Holland

It'll take just a few seconds to find out if you're likely to fall in love with Jolie Holland. In this intimate performance at the NPR Music offices, Holland plays songs from 2011's Pint of Blood with an unadorned style that makes her lyrics and voice all the more touching.

Soweto Gospel Choir

Singing in a number of South African languages, as well as English, Soweto Gospel Choir fuses the praise music of many Christian cultures, with nods to traditional African songs of celebration — complete with occasional clicks and bird songs.

Novalima

Novalima infuses traditional Peruvian music with new life by adding electronic sounds to create songs that sound both familiar and new. In this performance at the NPR Music offices, the band plays in a lean, funky configuration that gets the room grooving along.

Caveman

Caveman writes guitar-based pop songs full of subtlety and space and melodies you can carry around in your head. The band's songcraft and handcrafted instruments are on display in this performance at the NPR Music offices.

Kathleen Edwards

Edwards isn't a flashy singer-songwriter, but her music sticks: Easygoing and accessible, it burrows in deep and then stays put. In the NPR Music offices, she sings four sweet, warm, relatable songs that soothe as they nourish.

So Percussion

The minute its members were ensconced in our office, So Percussion started borrowing items to add to its set, from an amplified cactus and bells to a mug filled with spare change and an empty padded envelope. The ensemble performs original pieces and the works of John Cage at the Tiny Desk.

First Aid Kit

Composed of two young Swedish sisters whose charming, folk-infused pop music lulls and enchants, First Aid Kit nods to late-'60s and early-'70s bands like Crosby, Stills & Nash. Watch the pair perform three songs from The Lion's Roar.

Kayhan Kalhor

A soulful master musician from Iran, Kayhan Kalhor gives a beautiful and introspective performance to celebrate the Persian New Year, Nowruz — and shows us something about the art of improvisation.

Real Estate

Real Estate wears placidity well: It's a band born and bred to convey and celebrate laconic comfort. In its three-song concert in the NPR Music offices, the quintet re-creates its studio sound with airy precision.

Rudresh Mahanthappa

The saxophonist's new repertoire salutes electric funk, South Indian modes and swarming improvisation. It's impressive on record, but it becomes a bug-eyed, mouth-agape experience when you see it live. Naturally, he left a few contorted faces at the NPR Music offices

Laura Gibson (2012)

Her gorgeous, whispery voice inspired the Tiny Desk Concerts series in 2008. Now, Laura Gibson returns with her band to perform four songs from her new album, 'La Grande.'

Pistolera

Pistolera conjures the sounds of the Mexican desert by way of a cold basement in New York City's Chinatown. With the aid of a stellar band and insightful lyrics, songwriter Sandra Velasquez performs the music of her youth in California at the NPR Music offices.

Milagres

A band of selective minimalism, Milagres gets the most of simple sounds at the NPR Music offices. The result is songs which sound big and strong — delicately built, yet sturdy enough for the emotive sounds of Kyle Wilson's voice.

The Cranberries

After a long hiatus, the best-selling Irish pop-rock band is about to return with a new album called Roses. But if this performance at the NPR Music offices is any indication, the group isn't afraid to dip into its arsenal of early hits.

Joyce El Khoury And Brian Jagde

Soprano Joyce El-Khoury and tenor Brian Jagde are young, fresh-faced opera singers at the dawn of promising careers. Here, their deliciously sung Puccini reverberates off the walls of NPR Music.

Joan Soriano

With his songs of heartache, Soriano is an essential piece of the bachata story. Known as "El Duque de la Bachata" ("The Duke of Bachata"), Soriano gives a raw but beautiful performance at the NPR Music offices.

Red Baraat

One of the best party bands around, Red Baarat plays rollicking funk music steeped in Northern India's wedding celebrations, with a dash of D.C. go-go beats and hip-hop. The dance-friendly group performs a loud, high-energy set at the NPR Music offices.

Craig Finn

All these mournful, inward-facing songs (including the unreleased "Jeremiah's Blues") require is the Hold Steady singer, his acoustic guitar and the indispensable pedal steel of Ricky Ray Jackson.

The Creole Choir Of Cuba

With a musical history that dates back to the late 18th century, the group has revitalized a long-lost culture through music performed largely a cappella and entirely in Haitian Creole. Watch The Creole Choir of Cuba mash up Cuban and Haitian cultures in this spirited set at the NPR Music offices.

Bill Frisell

The brilliant and nimble guitarist Bill Frisell reinvents the songs of John Lennon at the NPR Music offices.

Girl In A Coma

Girl In A Coma is known for crunchy guitars, seamless musical interplay and Nina Diaz's alluring voice. But here, the San Antonio trio deftlygets back to basics to explore not just the form of its songs, but also the soul of its lyrics.

Anna Calvi

The slow build that takes place in just three short songs performed at the NPR Music offices — from a guitar instrumental to the final primal cry of "Jezebel" — is nothing short of astonishing. Calvi plays three songs from her self-titled debut in this powerful performance at the NPR Music offices.

Glenn Jones

Glenn Jones' most recent album, 'The Wanting,' is a compelling work of American folk music that tells stories without a single word. Watch the masterful guitarist perform a lovely set at the NPR Music offices.

Jake Schepps' Expedition Quartet

Banjo master Jake Schepps and friends create an intriguing goulash of Bartok, bluegrass and bebop at the NPR Music offices.

Screaming Females

Don't let the size of the amps at the NPR Music office fool you: Screaming Females' music is louder than bombs. Pared down at the Tiny Desk, the band's keen sense of song stays front and center — especially in "It All Means Nothing," a new song from Screaming Females' next album.

Le Butcherettes

Le Butcherettes' Teri Gender Bender can transform from a soft-spoken musician into a rock 'n' roll beast on a dime. Watch the haunting, spectacular performer as she howls, bangs on her guitar and stares into the eyes of individuals assembled at the NPR Music offices.

Tinariwen

Even in a stripped-down acoustic formation, Tinariwen's trance-inducing desert music doesn't disappoint. Watch the Tuareg musicians adorn their beautiful, flowing robes for a stunning set in the NPR Music offices.

Maria Volonte

Argentine singer Maria Volonte's powerful, refreshing interpretation  of tango is fully capable of transplanting itself into folk, Latin  blues or the traditional music of Peru, Uruguay and Brazil. With its mature sensuality, her music is filled  with a potent brew of nostalgia and melancholy.

The Music Tapes

Somewhere inside Julian Koster lives a 13-year-old boy filled with wonder and imagination. Performing with his band The Music Tapes, the Elephant 6 and Neutral Milk Hotel alumnus plays a holiday set complete with bowed banjos, singing saws and tape machines at the NPR Music offices. 

Gem Club

Maybe you couldn't hear a pin drop when Gem Club played, but you could hear the click of a keyboard.

I Wayne

The reggae star said little between his van and the NPR Music offices. But as soon as the cameras started rolling, he came to life right on cue, showcasing his smooth voice and vibrant energy.

JEFF The Brotherhood

Like the Ramones or early Weezer, the Nashville power-punk duo JEFF The Brotherhood is really good at being funny without writing gimmicky songs. And, while "Bummer" ostensibly comes off a breakup record, We Are the Champions, it functions in the same humorously harsh way as Weezer's Pinkerton. You really feel for these guys, but you still want to bum-rush the mic and sing along, espe...

Mates Of State

The modesty of Mates of State's performance both suits and complements a band  whose music is about generosity of spirit, forgiveness of failing, and  the celebration of all things hard-won enough to be worth celebrating.

tUnE-yArDs: Tiny Desk Concert

With loop pedals and an irrepressible voice, tUnE-yArDs' Merrill Garbus makes powerful and danceable songs that spring to life before your eyes. Watch Garbus perform three buoyant songs from this year's stunning 'w h o k i l l.'

Gabriel Kahane

The agile musician's rigorously crafted songs fall somewhere between classical and pop. The music Kahane performs here is all from his recent album, Where Are the Arms, a suite of 11 smart songs that weave in, out and between pop, rock and classical, covering a broad range of emotions. 

Hospital Ships

On 'Lonely Twin,' Hospital Ships' poppy folk songs and brash rockers are packed with instrumental flourishes and bursts of feedback. But in this stripped-down performance at the NPR Music offices, Jordan Geiger's beautifully crushing songs pack an emotional punch.

Joe Henry

Joe Henry's new 'Reverie' reflects his fearlessly easygoing style, so asking him to sing in a crowded office never  felt like an imposition.

Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile And Stuart Duncan

The genre-bending cellist heads a dream team of string players in music that borrows from bluegrass. Hear the quartet play three songs from their album 'The Goat Rodeo Sessions.'