9.0/107 votesLoading...#1 - The Swell Season
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 3/22/2009
Built in 1906 as a shelter for young wayward or orphaned girls, the Good Shepherd Center Chapel in Seattle provided a new sort of haven for two hundred Artists Den guests on a crisp autumn night. Now a Historic Seattle landmark and performance space, the intimate chapel is framed by high wooden arches, which were lit by candlelight while the latest incarnation of the Swell Season – led by Glen Hansard and backed by Marketa Irglova on piano and two of Hansard’s band mates from the Frames on bass and violin – gave a special performance of their melodic, original songs, several of which were featured in the Academy Award-winning film Once.
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8.9/109 votesLoading...#2 - Adele
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 2/3/2012
Adele at the Santa Monica Bay Woman's Club in Santa Monica, California "Nothing in life moves me as much as being on stage does,” said Adele, who recently received 6 Grammy Nominations, at her Artists Den taping at Santa Monica Bay’s Woman’s Club. “I love the closeness of playing in small rooms, and this room was lovely and simple, just beautiful."
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- 8.7/109 votesLoading...
#3 - The Killers
Season 6 Episode 3 - Aired 7/11/2013
The Killers played an unforgettable show in New York City at an iconic old bank in the heart of Chinatown for a taping of Live from the Artists Den. Opening with the propulsive new single, “Runaways,” the Las Vegas-based band drew on material from across their multi-platinum catalogue, including such smash hits as “Mr. Brightside,” “When You Were Young,” and “Human.” The performance took place in front of 600 invited guests at the magnificent Chinatown landmark Capitale, designed in the 19th Century by influential architect Stanford White as the home of the Bowery Savings Bank.
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- 8.6/105 votesLoading...
#4 - Ed Sheeran
Season 6 Episode 4 - Aired 7/18/2013
British singer and guitarist Ed Sheeran performs at the meeting house of the New York Society for Ethical Culture in Manhattan, N.Y.
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- 8.5/1016 votesLoading...
#5 - Soundgarden
Season 6 Episode 2 - Aired 7/4/2013
On a warm February night in Los Angeles, the legendary Seattle rock band Soundgarden concluded a sold-out winter tour in support of King Animal, their first studio album in over 16 years. The Artists Den was there to document this unforgettable night within the historic art deco setting of The Wiltern. In front of a rapturous crowd, Soundgarden interwove brand new songs with classics, radio hits with rarities never before performed for a live audience. Over a varied 28-song set, they showcased their history, dazzled with their musicianship and captured the imaginations of everyone in the room.
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- 8.1/109 votesLoading...
#6 - Crowded House
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 4/5/2009
The magnificent Masonic Hall Grand Lodge was the dramatic setting for a dramatic event: the first Crowded House concert in New York since the legendary band reformed after more than a decade apart. The hall’s enormous, brightly painted pipe organ opened this special show celebrating the release of the band’s new album, Time on Earth (ATO Records), for a crowd of long-time fans who traveled from as far as New Zealand to attend.
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- 7.7/1020 votesLoading...
#7 - Robert Plant and the Band of Joy
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 4/22/2011
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Robert Plant and the Band of Joy at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville
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- 7.4/107 votesLoading...
#8 - The Black Crowes
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 8/2/2010
The Black Crowes -- a rock band Billboard coined an "Allmans-to-Zappa synthesis of influences" -- broke onto the scene with their multiplatinum 1990 debut, Shake Your Moneymaker. The Georgia band has since released seven studio albums, which have racked up worldwide sales exceeding 19 million. The Crowes's 2008 LP Warpaint includes, according to Rolling Stone, "some of the best range and craft of the band's career" -- not a small feat for a group that's been on the scene for two full decades. After an extensive renovation, The Lyric Oxford re-opened its doors in the summer of 2008 on "The Sqare" in Oxford, Mississippi. The Lyric originally opened as a silent movie theatre in 1913 and played home to a variety of films and events over the years -- including the world premiere of native Oxfordian William Faulker's "Intruder in the Dust" in 1949.
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- 7.2/105 votesLoading...
#9 - Corinne Bailey Rae
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 7/26/2010
Beneath New York City's Maritime Hotel, under the paper lanterns and vaulted ceilings of the Japanese-themed Hiro Ballroom, British neo-soul star Corinne Bailey Rae gave her fans a special treat: an intimate performance showcasing her new hit album, The Sea, seven weeks before its release.
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- 7.2/106 votesLoading...
#10 - Kid Rock
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 2/24/2012
Kid Rock at Graceland in Memphis, TN
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- 7.0/106 votesLoading...
#11 - Ringo Starr with Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 7/5/2010
No description available
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- 7.0/106 votesLoading...
#12 - Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 4/1/2011
The Season 3 opener features Elvis Costello, backed by his acoustic band the Sugarcanes, at the New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
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#13 - Alanis Morrissette
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 2/1/2009
Judson Memorial Church was built in 1890 with the vision of aiding Lower Manhattan’s growing immigrant population through social services in addition to religious ones, but it was in the mid-1960s that Judson earned its national reputation as a progressive church – both by organizing politically around social justice issues and opening the church to experimental, avant-garde artists from many genres (dance, painting, theatre). The Artists Den hosted an intimate performance in the famous Lombardo-Romanesque building by multi-platinum songstress Alanis Morissette, who gave a taste of her new album, Flavors of Entanglement, on the eve of its release.
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#14 - Raphael Saadiq
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 2/8/2009
Prolific producer and performer Raphael Saadiq warmed up a cold winter night in Boston with a nine-piece band performing the soulful songs from The Way I See It, his masterful new album that reflects his deep love for 1960s rhythm and blues. The special show took place at the Harvard Club, in the Main Clubhouse on Commonwealth Avenue built in 1912, and showcased the rich blend of funky grooves and smooth balladry that is Saadiq's calling card.
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#15 - Jakob Dylan
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 2/12/2009
In through the 19th-century archway, across the ivy-covered courtyard, and up worn stone steps sits the Refectory of the Desmond Tutu Center, located on the campus of the oldest operating seminary in America, in the heart of New York’s vibrant Chelsea neighborhood. The wooden Gothic architecture of the hall provided the backdrop for a special performance by Jakob Dylan and his band, the Gold Mountain Rebels, in celebration of his first solo release, Seeing Things.
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#16 - Ingrid Michaelson
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 2/19/2009
Off “Old King’s Highway” on Cape Cod, looking like a cross between a cow barn and a Congregational Church, sits the Cape Cinema. On a hot summer night, underneath Kent Rockwell’s art deco swirl of heavenly bodies (once the largest mural in the world) and in front of the movie screen that premiered The Wizard of Oz in 1939, the Artists Den cast the cinema in a new light with a performance by indie-pop darling Ingrid Michaelson.
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#17 - Ani DiFranco
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2/27/2009
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia – the first art museum in America – displayed the work of a different kind of artist on a warm spring night when Ani DiFranco played the Artists Den stage. Before a packed gallery in the Academy’s Historic Landmark Building, which opened in 1876 for the nation’s Centennial Exposition and World’s Fair, the prolific, fiercely independent folk singer-songwriter gave a special performance of both fan favorites and new songs from her upcoming album, Red Letter Year.
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#18 - The Hold Steady
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/27/2009
At the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, indie rock sensation the Hold Steady worked a packed crowd into a frenzy in downtown New York at the Old Emigrant Savings Bank Building, built in 1908 and designated a city landmark after ceasing operations in 1965. From the richly decorated banking hall’s marble floors to its stained-glass skylights, the building was brought to life again by the classic anthemic melodies of Stay Positive, the group’s acclaimed breakthrough album.
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#19 - Patty Griffin
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 3/15/2009
On the bitterly cold winter night of Patty Griffin’s new record release – the acclaimed Children Running Through (ATO Records) – devoted fans huddled together outside the Angel Orensanz Center for a chance to see Griffin perform songs from the album for the first time. The historic converted synagogue’s neo-gothic arches were lit with the warm glow of candlelight as Griffin’s singular voice filled the room, accompanied by new band members and longtime players alike. A special treat on some songs was the addition of legendary keyboardist Ian McLagan (Small Faces, The Rolling Stones) – who appeared for this night only – and a 5-piece string section.
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#20 - Aimee Mann
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 3/29/2009
In the heart of the revitalized Downtown Los Angeles district, fans packed into the breathtaking former Archdiocese cathedral Vibiana for a rare intimate set by Aimee Mann in a stripped-down, trio line-up. Built in 1876, the historic building’s Baroque white hall provided a stately setting for this special benefit concert, as Aimee treated Artists Den guests to favorites such as “Save Me” and “Goodbye Caroline” – and a first look at her forthcoming album, Smilers.
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#21 - KT Tunstall
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 4/12/2009
Under the sculpted, neo-Renaissance ceiling of the Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan, KT Tunstall performed before an intimate Artists Den audience, revisiting her hits and giving a sneak peek of her upcoming sophomore album, Drastic Fantastic (Virgin/EMI), a follow-up to the massively successful Eye to the Telescope. Tunstall's dynamic sound found full expression with a five-piece band, filling the ornate, colorful ballroom with equally lavish music.
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#22 - Josh Ritter
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 4/19/2009
At first glance, Josh Ritter’s Artists Den performance might have taken place in his native Idaho, against a landscape of rolling green hills and grazing bison. The enormous animals behind the band were, however, stuffed: the show’s venue was actually in the North American Mammal Hall of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, in the spirit of Ritter’s new album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Sony BMG/Victor). Surrounded by grizzly bears and wolves, hundreds of die-hard fans packed the diorama-filled hall as Ritter delivered a full-on rock concert – complete with a 5-piece horn section – that kept the room dancing all night.
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#23 - Ben Harper
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 4/26/2009
Fifty thousand fans dancing in the sunshine of Manchester, Tennessee cheered on funk/folk superstar Ben Harper during his main-stage performance at the 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. The largest featured in Season One of “Live from the Artists Den,” the concert took place on the 700-acre farm that for four days each year becomes the home of what is widely considered to be the premier American music festival.
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#24 - Tori Amos
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 7/12/2010
The Veterans Room of New York City's Park Avenue Armory set the stage for a private concert by Tori Amos for 100 lucky fans. Described as "Greek, Moresque, and Celtic with a dash of the Egyptian, the Persian, and the Japanese," the room provided a fitting setting for one of the most eclectic and culturally curious artists in music today. Amos performed a career-spanning set featuring classics from her debut Little Earthquakes through to Abnormally Attracted to Sin.
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#25 - David Gray
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 7/19/2010
David Gray brought his signature mix of acoustic instrumentation and electronic samples to Wall Street for an intimate performance at the Broad Street Ballroom, housed in a 1920s building renowned for its austere Classical Revival style. The breathtaking hall of the former Lee-Higginson Bank (now part of the first-ever private elementary school below Canal Street) provided a colorful setting for the multi-platinum singer-songwriter as he played songs from the eagerly anticipated Draw the Line and his hits.
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The Best Episodes of Live From the Artists Den
Every episode of Live From the Artists Den ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Live From the Artists Den!
A concert showcase that features music artists performing in unique settings, such as museums, temples and synagogues. The series also features interview segments with the...
Genre:Documentary
Network:PBS
Best Episodes Summary
"The Swell Season" is the best rated episode of "Live From the Artists Den". It scored 9/10 based on 7 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 3/22/2009. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Adele".