Show cover for NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

The Worst Episodes of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

Every episode of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts!

Intimate musical performances, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.
Network:YouTube

Worst Episodes Summary

"Laura Gibson" is the worst rated episode of "NPR Tiny Desk Concerts". It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 4/22/2008. This episode scored NaN points lower than the second lowest rated, "Vic Chesnutt".

  • Laura Gibson
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    #1 - Laura Gibson

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 4/22/2008

    Laura Gibson works through a handful of tenderhearted songs: two of them unreleased and two of them from her full-length debut, If You Come to Greet Me.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Vic Chesnutt
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    #2 - Vic Chesnutt

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 6/5/2008

    When Athens, Ga., songwriter Vic Chesnutt was on tour in support of his album, “North Star Deserter,” he stopped by NPR to perform live at All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's desk. Chesnutt played five songs, including two entirely new ones.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Sam Phillips
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    #3 - Sam Phillips

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 6/25/2008

    The music of Sam Phillips unfolds like perfect, miniature pop dramas. Of all her incarnations as a performer — first as a Christian singer, then as a pop singer — the current Sam Phillips is one of the most alluring. Phillips performs four songs from “Don't Do Anything.”

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Sera Cahoone
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    #4 - Sera Cahoone

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 7/10/2008

    Sera Cahoone got her start playing drums for a few widely adored bands in the Pacific Northwest, most notably Band of Horses and the spell-checker-defying Carissa's Wierd. But her self-titled, self-released 2006 album marked her as a fully formed talent — a warm and inviting singer whose songs convey world-weariness and homespun grace.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Thao Nguyen
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    #5 - Thao Nguyen

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 9/4/2008

    Thao Nguyen makes captivating music. Her songs are raw and infectious, her voice has a distinctive swagger, and she's a remarkably nimble guitarist.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Lambchop's Kurt Wagner
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    #6 - Lambchop's Kurt Wagner

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/8/2008

    Kurt Wagner writes and sings beautiful songs with Lambchop, a hefty Nashville ensemble with a calm, restrained sound. When Kurt Wagner came by the office to play a Tiny Desk Concert, he came alone, with just an acoustic guitar, a stack of lyrics and his humble, good-natured sense of humor.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Dr. Dog
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    #7 - Dr. Dog

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/20/2008

    Dr. Dog isn't an obvious choice for one of NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts. For one thing, it's a pretty big group, at least for the small space behind Bob Boilen's desk. The band's music can be pretty chaotic — loud and rumbling, with multiple instruments fighting to be heard. And singer Toby Leaman likes to belt out his vocals in a window-rattling, raspy growl.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Jim White
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    #8 - Jim White

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/7/2008

    Jim White is a storyteller first and a musician second. It's a kind of storytelling rooted in his own unusual history: He grew up in Florida in a deeply Pentecostal community and fell in love with the white gospel music he heard. But from there, White took a surprising path to becoming a full-time musician. He was a professional surfer, a boxer, a fashion model in Milan and a cab driver in New York City. White's travels recently took him to Washington, D.C., where he stopped by the offices of NPR Music for this live performance.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Shearwater
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    #9 - Shearwater

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/14/2008

    A glorious four-song set that's at once pristine and ramshackle — equal parts clarity and clatter — not to mention one of our best Tiny Desk Concerts yet.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • David Dondero
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    #10 - David Dondero

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/30/2008

    He should be a name everyone knows by now. Instead, troubadour David Dondero returned to NPR having slept the night before in his car. Dondero travels from club to club, singing his well-crafted songs — songs that have his signature lyrics at their core. His lyrics can make you smile with their wit and hurt with their bite, all at the same time.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Woven Hand
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    #11 - Woven Hand

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 1/7/2009

    David Eugene Edwards performs his fiery Americana and covers a rare Bob Dylan song.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Super XX Man
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    #12 - Super XX Man

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 1/27/2009

    Hear the singer give an intimate acoustic performance at the desk of NPR Music's Bob Boilen.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Tom Jones
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    #13 - Tom Jones

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 3/2/2009

    Hear the legendary singer perform at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Horse Feathers
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    #14 - Horse Feathers

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 5/8/2009

    See the band perform live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Benjy Ferree
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    #15 - Benjy Ferree

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 5/29/2009

    Ferree has enough charisma to draw you into his odd world. Watch him perform in the NPR offices.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Great Lake Swimmers
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    #16 - Great Lake Swimmers

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 6/8/2009

    Singer Tony Dekker performs three songs at the desk of All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Jason Vieaux
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    #17 - Jason Vieaux

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 6/15/2009

    The classical guitarist plays with a clear, lyrical technique in music from the baroque and beyond.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Avett Brothers
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    #18 - The Avett Brothers

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 6/22/2009

    Hear the harmony-drenched roots-rock band perform a kinetic, frenetic set in the NPR Music offices.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Maria Taylor
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    #19 - Maria Taylor

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 6/29/2009

    Hear the singer-songwriter's tender, winsome music, performed live in the NPR Music offices.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Julie Doiron
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    #20 - Julie Doiron

    Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 7/6/2009

    After a few restarts, the singer played a bare, stark, memorable solo set in the NPR Music offices.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Bill Callahan
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    #21 - Bill Callahan

    Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 7/13/2009

    Watch the artist formerly known as Smog play a three-song set that's almost eerily transfixing.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy
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    #22 - Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy

    Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 7/20/2009

    Or, the day a trumpet, trombone, French horn and tuba played us a soulful Rufus Wainwright cover.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Sarah Siskind
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    #23 - Sarah Siskind

    Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 7/27/2009

    In this video shot at the NPR Music offices, Siskind showcases a voice that's both honeyed and raw.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Swell Season
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    #24 - The Swell Season

    Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 8/10/2009

    Hear Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, stars of the movie Once, playing six new songs and an encore.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Dark Meat
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    #25 - Dark Meat

    Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 8/24/2009

    Dark Meat has as many as 20 members. We fit as many as we could behind Bob Boilen's desk.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A