Overview of 'NPR Tiny Desk Concerts' Season 5

Episode 1 - Tinariwen

Release Date: 2012-01-05

Even in a stripped-down acoustic set, Tinariwen's trance-inducing desert music doesn't disappoint.

Episode 2 - Le Butcherettes

Release Date: 2012-01-09

Watch singer Teri Gender Bender transform from a soft-spoken musician into a rock 'n' roll beast.

Episode 3 - Screaming Females

Release Date: 2012-01-17

The band's keen sense of song prevails, especially in a new song called "It All Means Nothing."

Episode 4 - Jake Schepps' Expedition Quartet

Release Date: 2012-01-19

Banjo master Schepps and friends create an intriguing goulash of Bartók, bluegrass and bebop.

Episode 5 - Glenn Jones

Release Date: 2012-01-23

Watch the masterful folk guitarist perform a lovely instrumental set at the NPR Music offices.

Episode 6 - Anna Calvi

Release Date: 2012-01-26

Calvi plays songs from her self-titled debut in this powerful performance at the NPR Music offices.

Episode 7 - Girl In A Coma

Release Date: 2012-01-30

The San Antonio trio gets back to basics to explore its songs' forms and the soul of its lyrics.

Episode 8 - Bill Frisell

Release Date: 2012-02-03

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

Episode 9 - The Creole Choir Of Cuba

Release Date: 2012-02-06

The group has revitalized a long-lost culture through music performed entirely in Haitian Creole.

Episode 10 - Craig Finn

Release Date: 2012-02-09

The Hold Steady singer's stark side is nicely conducive to barren arrangements at the NPR offices.

Episode 11 - Red Baraat

Release Date: 2012-02-14

The dance-friendly, India-inspired funk group performs a high-energy set at the NPR Music offices.

Episode 12 - Joan Soriano

Release Date: 2012-02-16

"The Duke of Bachata" gives a raw but beautiful interpretation of bachata at the NPR Music offices.

Episode 13 - Joyce El Khoury And Brian Jagde

Release Date: 2012-02-20

Hear the fresh-faced opera singers perform Puccini at the NPR Music offices.

Episode 14 - The Cranberries

Release Date: 2012-02-23

In this performance at the NPR Music offices, the Irish pop band mixes new songs with early hits.

Episode 15 - Milagres

Release Date: 2012-02-27

A band of selective minimalism, Milagres gets the most of simple sounds at the NPR Music offices.

Episode 16 - Pistolera

Release Date: 2012-03-01

Through her insightful lyrics, Sandra Velasquez conjures the sounds of the Mexican desert.

Episode 17 - Laura Gibson

Release Date: 2012-03-05

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.

Episode 18 - Rudresh Mahanthappa

Release Date: 2012-03-08

The saxophonist's new repertoire salutes electric funk, South Indian modes and swarming solos.

Episode 19 - Real Estate

Release Date: 2012-03-12

Real Estate wears placidity well: It's a band born and bred to convey and celebrate laconic comfort.

Episode 20 - Kayhan Kalhor

Release Date: 2012-03-24

A soulful master musician from Iran, Kalhor performs a beautiful improvisation at the NPR offices.

Episode 21 - First Aid Kit

Release Date: 2012-03-28

Sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg make charming, folk-infused pop music that lulls and enchants.

Episode 22 - So Percussion

Release Date: 2012-04-02

The ensemble employs all kinds of toys, from an amplified cactus to a mug filled with spare change.

Episode 23 - Kathleen Edwards

Release Date: 2012-04-05

The Canadian singer performs four sweet, warm, relatable songs that soothe as they nourish.

Episode 24 - Caveman

Release Date: 2012-04-10

Caveman writes guitar-based pop songs full of space and melodies you can carry around in your head.

Episode 25 - Novalima

Release Date: 2012-04-12

At the NPR offices, the band plays in a lean, funky configuration that gets the room grooving along.

Episode 26 - Soweto Gospel Choir

Release Date: 2012-04-16

The group fuses the music of many Christian cultures, with nods to African songs of celebration.

Episode 27 - Jolie Holland

Release Date: 2012-04-23

Holland plays songs with an unadorned tone that makes the voice and lyrics all the more touching.

Episode 28 - Cowboy Junkies

Release Date: 2012-04-26

The venerable band sounds as poignant and tender as ever in this performance at the NPR offices.

Episode 29 - Hospitality

Release Date: 2012-04-30

The group doesn't overwhelm so much as it wears listeners down with a subtle charm offensive.

Episode 30 - Nathan Salsburg

Release Date: 2012-05-03

The guitarist displays intricate fingerpicking in two songs inspired by Kentucky Derby racehorses.

Episode 31 - Endangered Blood

Release Date: 2012-05-07

The jazz quartet draws from post-bop, 20th-century chromaticism and New Orleans funeral marches.

Episode 32 - Kishi Bashi

Release Date: 2012-05-10

K Ishibashi is a master at building songs from live violin loops, layered singing and beatboxing.

Episode 33 - Pedro Soler And Gaspar Claus

Release Date: 2012-05-14

The improvisational music of the father-son, guitar-cello duo functions as a beautiful conversation.

Episode 34 - Chuck Brown

Release Date: 2012-05-16

The Godfather of Go-Go died Wednesday. In 2010, he brought his full band to the NPR Music office.

Episode 35 - Arborea

Release Date: 2012-05-17

Rooted in acoustic traditions, the music of Arborea stands out for its calm beauty and rough edges.

Episode 36 - Yann Tiersen

Release Date: 2012-05-21

Tiersen's rich, liltingly eccentric pop music is constructed from lots of sweet, intricate pieces.

Episode 37 - Canadian Brass

Release Date: 2012-05-26

The venerable brass quintet sports virtuosic, fresh-faced players in tried-and-true repertoire.

Episode 38 - Patrick Watson

Release Date: 2012-05-31

Watson has a lovely voice and a gift for wringing evocative sounds out of everything he touches.

Episode 39 - Kelly Hogan

Release Date: 2012-06-04

The unflappable singer performs three songs with seeming effortlessness and easygoing charm.

Episode 40 - Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom

Release Date: 2012-06-07

The drummer dedicates tunes to her friends, including her first teacher — a "sometimes great guy."

Episode 41 - Daniel Johnston

Release Date: 2012-06-11

Watch three songs by a troubled soul with a talent for writing honest, disarmingly direct music.

Episode 42 - Glen Hansard

Release Date: 2012-06-17

Hansard flexes his neck muscles a bit as he performs new songs and deep cuts at the NPR offices.

Episode 43 - Mariachi El Bronx

Release Date: 2012-06-21

The band plays with just the right mixture of passion and pathos in a fun set at the NPR offices.

Episode 44 - Reggie Watts

Release Date: 2012-06-25

The comedian and musician performs spontaneous improvisations full of killer grooves and humor.

Episode 45 - Exitmusic

Release Date: 2012-07-02

The band plays a beautifully buzzing, nuanced set, marked by gorgeous grace and stirring melodies.

Episode 46 - Brandi Carlile

Release Date: 2012-07-09

At the NPR offices, Carlile and her band sing from-the-gut songs about messy lives, loudly lived.

Episode 47 - Laura Marling

Release Date: 2012-07-12

Two songs from A Creature I Don't Know bookend a gorgeous new, unreleased song called "Once."

Episode 48 - Souad Massi

Release Date: 2012-07-15

A soulful yet steely singer-songwriter from Algeria charts her own course in these four songs.

Episode 49 - The Milk Carton Kids

Release Date: 2012-07-16

Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale sing sweet but intricate folk-pop songs in the NPR offices.

Episode 50 - Janet Feder

Release Date: 2012-07-22

Feder marries classical and folk techniques with otherworldly guitar textures and sounds.

Episode 51 - The Walkmen

Release Date: 2012-07-29

The band makes the Tiny Desk accommodate its booming sound rather than the other way around.

Episode 52 - Beth Orton

Release Date: 2012-08-06

Known for mixing folk and electronics, Orton unveils three new songs with just an acoustic guitar.

Episode 53 - The Zombies

Release Date: 2012-08-12

Two surviving members of the band still have the same chemistry here in a stripped-down performance.

Episode 54 - Rufus Wainwright

Release Date: 2012-08-20

By the middle of Wainwright's final song, "Montauk," few dry eyes remained in the NPR offices.

Episode 55 - Renaud Garcia-Fons

Release Date: 2012-08-27

Watch the renowned double bassist thump, strum and loop his way through three mesmerizing songs.

Episode 56 - Avi Avital

Release Date: 2012-09-10

Avital's mandolin sings with the sounds of Ernest Bloch and a raucous Bulgarian folk tune.

Episode 57 - Amanda Palmer And The Grand Theft Orchestra

Release Date: 2012-09-17

These songs' fervor is the product of a singer armed with intensity and musicians who can match it.

Episode 58 - Yva Las Vegass

Release Date: 2012-09-24

Watch Las Vegass bring a punk aesthetic to Venezuelan folk music with a cuatro at the NPR offices.

Episode 59 - Kat Edmonson

Release Date: 2012-10-01

Hearing the 29-year-old singer makes it virtually impossible to do anything but stop and listen.

Episode 60 - Antibalas

Release Date: 2012-10-04

It's one thing for 11 musicians to make a big sound, but what stands out is Antibalas' subtlety.

Episode 61 - Spirit Family Reunion

Release Date: 2012-10-08

The group plays fiddle, banjo, guitar and washboard, all gathered around a single microphone.

Episode 62 - Dirty Three

Release Date: 2012-10-15

The band unleashes a gorgeous flurry of shambolic rumbling, prolific hairiness and dramatic yelling.

Episode 63 - Robert Cray Band

Release Date: 2012-10-22

Like any great blues singer, Cray makes heartache and dysfunction sound engaging and relatable.

Episode 64 - Lord Huron

Release Date: 2012-10-25

The band's rich harmonies are welcoming, its lyrics relatable and its live performances thrilling.

Episode 65 - Passion Pit

Release Date: 2012-10-29

Michael Angelakos makes electro-pop with monster hooks. But his songs are sturdy, versatile things.

Episode 66 - Jason Lytle

Release Date: 2012-11-05

The longtime frontman for Grandaddy goes it alone with acoustic solo songs from his latest record.

Episode 67 - Flaco Jimenez

Release Date: 2012-11-12

The conjunto icon spins magic, and stays true to tradition, with his trademark button accordion.

Episode 68 - Ben Gibbard

Release Date: 2012-11-19

For Tiny Desk Concert No. 250, the Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service singer performs solo.

Episode 69 - Martha Wainwright

Release Date: 2012-11-26

Wainwright roughs up life's smooth spots, then digs her fingertips into the cracks that form.

Episode 70 - Taken By Trees

Release Date: 2012-11-29

Victoria Bergsman's songs seem to come from a place somewhere between a dream state and waking life.

Episode 71 - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Release Date: 2012-12-03

The Seattle duo literally shakes the dust off the ceiling tiles at the NPR Music offices.

Episode 72 - Anaïs Mitchell

Release Date: 2012-12-06

The singer-songwriter performs three of Young Man in America's most bracingly beautiful songs.

Episode 73 - Daniel Bachman

Release Date: 2012-12-09

Once the acoustic guitarist zeroes in on the center of a song, it's easy to get lost in it yourself.

Episode 74 - Lyle Lovett

Release Date: 2012-12-10

Lovett gives a loose, engaging performance that feels like both an introduction and a victory lap.

Episode 75 - Alt-J

Release Date: 2012-12-17

The Mercury Prize-winning band plays angular, poetic, inventive music that takes unexpected turns.

Episode 76 - The Polyphonic Spree

Release Date: 2012-12-21

The sprawling group, 17 strong, squeezes behind Bob Boilen's desk for a special holiday performance.

Episode 77 - Miguel

Release Date: 2012-12-31

Performing at the NPR Music offices, Miguel strips his highly produced hits down to their bones.