NPR Tiny Desk Concerts backdrop
NPR Tiny Desk Concerts poster

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!

The Worst Episodes of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

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

Filter By Season19

  1. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Laura Gibson

    Loading...
    S1:E1

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  2. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #2 - Vic Chesnutt

    Loading...
    S1:E2

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  3. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Sam Phillips

    Loading...
    S1:E3

    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.”

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  4. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Sera Cahoone

    Loading...
    S1:E4

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  5. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #5 - Thao Nguyen

    Loading...
    S1:E5

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  6. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Lambchop's Kurt Wagner

    Loading...
    S1:E6

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

    READ
  8. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Dr. Dog

    Loading...
    S1:E7

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  9. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Jim White

    Loading...
    S1:E8

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  10. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Shearwater

    Loading...
    S1:E9

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  11. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - David Dondero

    Loading...
    S1:E10

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  12. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Woven Hand

    Loading...
    S2:E1

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  13. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Super XX Man

    Loading...
    S2:E2

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  14. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Tom Jones

    Loading...
    S2:E3

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  15. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Horse Feathers

    Loading...
    S2:E4

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  16. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Benjy Ferree

    Loading...
    S2:E5

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  17. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Great Lake Swimmers

    Loading...
    S2:E6

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  18. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Jason Vieaux

    Loading...
    S2:E7

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  19. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The Avett Brothers

    Loading...
    S2:E8

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  20. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Maria Taylor

    Loading...
    S2:E9

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  21. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Julie Doiron

    Loading...
    S2:E10

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  22. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Bill Callahan

    Loading...
    S2:E11

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  23. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy

    Loading...
    S2:E12

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  24. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Sarah Siskind

    Loading...
    S2:E13

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  25. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #24 - The Swell Season

    Loading...
    S2:E14

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  26. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Dark Meat

    Loading...
    S2:E15

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A

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".