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Tom Brosseau: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Tom Brosseau possesses one of the most arresting voices in folk music today. Many people who hear him sing, without knowing his name or face, assume the voice belongs to a woman, as he hovers somewhere around the countertenor range, with an unusually pure tone. The beauty of Brosseau’s voice is magnified in this Tiny Desk Concert by the spare accompaniment of two acoustic guitars. Brosseau is on rhythm, accompanied by Sean Watkins. Watkins, who also plays and sings with Nickel Creek, produced and plays on Brosseau’s new album, Grass Punks. Brosseau is unabashedly sentimental and earnest. It informs his [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Pixies: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

The windowsills were lined with people standing, as every nook between every office desk filled to capacity with NPR employees and their assorted guests. Pixies, after getting misplaced for a time in our parking garage during a moment worthy of This Is Spinal Tap, showed up in time to encounter the largest crowd we’ve ever assembled for a Tiny Desk Concert. (Our new office space allows for more guests than the old one did, but it’s still a mark of this band’s significance for so many youthful grownups.) Black Francis played an acoustic guitar for this set, while drummer David [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

He seemed so casual — sitting on a bar stool behind the Tiny Desk, acoustic guitar in hand — but when you hear that husky voice, you’ll know why he’s a legend. Oliver Mtukudzi, or “Tuku” as his fans lovingly call him, plays spirited music, born from the soul of Zimbabwe. He’s been recording since the late 1970s, with about as many albums as his age: 60. But Mtukudzi’s new record reveals a heavier heart than before: Sarawoga is his first recording since the loss of his son Sam. He and Sam — also a guitar player, as well as [See More…]