Bob Boilen
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
Significant listener interest in the music being played on All Things Considered, along with his and NPR's vast music collections, gave Boilen the idea to start All Songs Considered. "It was obvious to me that listeners of NPR were also lovers of music, but what also became obvious by 1999 was that the web was going to be the place to discover new music and that we wanted to be the premiere site for music discovery." The show launched in 2000, with Boilen as its host.
Before coming to NPR, Boilen found many ways to share his passion for music. From 1982 to 1986 he worked for Baltimore's Impossible Theater, where he held many posts, including composer, technician, and recording engineer. Boilen became part of music history in 1983 with the Impossible Theater production Whiz Bang, a History of Sound. In it, Boilen became one of the first composers to use audio sampling — in this case, sounds from nature and the industrial revolution. He was about Whiz Bang by Susan Stamberg on All Things Considered.
In 1985, the Washington City Paper voted Boilen 'Performance Artist of the Year.' An electronic musician, he received a grant from the Washington D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to work on electronic music and performance.
After Impossible Theater, Boilen worked as a producer for a television station in Washington, D.C. He produced several projects, including a music video show. In 1997, he started producing an online show called Science Live for the Discovery Channel. He also put out two albums with his psychedelic band, Tiny Desk Unit, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Boilen still composes and performs music and posts it for free on his website . He performs and has a podcast of contradance music that he produces with his son Julian.
Boilen's first book, , was published in April 2016 by HarperCollins.
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Performing his first new solo songs in seven years, this soft-spoken Swedish singer left an imprint at the Tiny Desk that was gentle and long lasting.
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An acoustic quartet from Kiev, Ukraine whose music encompasses rhythms and sounds from around the world, while remaining joyfully unique. Plus, they wear amazing hats.
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Ware's singing brings warmth to electronic music and a swooning quality to her own pop, so it's no surprise that her visit to the Tiny Desk was filled with casual poise and spontaneity.
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Stokes' songs feel familiar; they're old friends before you're done hearing them for the first time. Watch the Dispatch and State Radio singer perform his solo material live in the NPR Music offices.
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In a beautifully stark performance, the band plays two songs from the new Kintsugi and two older favorites — one from Plans and one from Transatlanticism.
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Performed softly in the light of day, the duo's year-old material feels fresh and lovable when performed outside of a dark, loud club setting.
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Before the wide-ranging band plays its four-song set, the audience sings "Happy Birthday" to mandolinist Chris Thile.
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The singer beat out nearly 7,000 other submissions to win NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest. See why in this passionate three-song set.
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The Wisconsin band performs three of its warm, accessible songs in the NPR Music offices.
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The Tiny Desk becomes a DJ booth for an office space dance party. See Deacon perform three songs from his new album for an assortment of joyfully writhing public media personnel.