Season 2014

E1. Van-Anh Vanessa Vo

Jan 4, 2014 · 15m

The musician unpacks an array of traditional Vietnamese instruments — and 1,000 years of culture.

E2. Lily & Madeleine

Jan 7, 2014 · 15m

The teenagers play a restrained, homespun mix of folk and pop with undeniably sweet harmonies.

E3. Afro Blue

Jan 13, 2014 · 15m

The Howard University vocal jazz ensemble performs beautiful African-American spirituals.

E4. Robert Glasper Experiment

Jan 20, 2014 · 15m

Members of the Grammy-winning, organic R&B Experiment band jam with singer Marsha Ambrosius.

E5. Angel Olsen

Jan 27, 2014 · 15m

The expressive, powerful singer previews songs from her new album, Burn Your Fire for No Witness.

E6. Pixies

Feb 3, 2014 · 15m

Hear the legendary band perform 1989's "Monkey Gone to Heaven" and two new songs — one unreleased.

E7. Fanfare Ciocarlia

Feb 8, 2014 · 15m

The joyous Balkan brass band plays at a pace that would make the Ramones burst into a sweat.

E8. Suzanne Vega

Feb 10, 2014 · 15m

The inventive folk-music veteran book-ends a four-song set with her hits "Luka" and "Tom's Diner."

E9. Cate Le Bon

Feb 18, 2014 · 15m

The Welsh singer's set conveys loneliness and doubt with just two guitars and an inviting whisper.

E10. Sofia Rei

Feb 22, 2014 · 15m

For about 20 minutes one sunny afternoon, Rei turned a desk into a small Latin American folk club.

E11. Brass Bed

Feb 24, 2014 · 15m

See the band re-create some of its stellar studio effects with a pedal steel and some novelty mics.

E12. Asaf Avidan

Mar 2, 2014 · 15m

Avidan has an album and no U.S. record label to put it out. But he's on a solo tour that's stunning.

E13. Lowland Hum

Mar 6, 2014 · 15m

It's hard to convey the sound of two people in love, but Lowland Hum does that effortlessly.

E14. Jake Bugg

Mar 10, 2014 · 15m

Watch the 20-year-old English singer-songwriter, who has worked with superproducer Rick Rubin.

E15. Diane Cluck

Mar 17, 2014 · 15m

On record, Cluck's elastic voice and fingerpicking are impressive. Live, they jam the senses.

E16. Joseph Calleja

Mar 24, 2014 · 15m

All the world's top opera houses want the young tenor with the old-school approach.

E17. The Haden Triplets

Mar 31, 2014 · 15m

When the sisters cover classic country music together, the result is a treat and a trip in time.

E18. The Both

Apr 7, 2014 · 15m

Singer-songwriters Aimee Mann and Ted Leo unite from opposite ends of the volume knob.

E19. Tom Brosseau

Apr 12, 2014 · 15m

The North Dakota singer-songwriter possesses one of the most arresting voices in folk music today.

E20. Courtney Barnett

Apr 14, 2014 · 15m

Barnett tells stories like your best friend, provided your best friend is a funny Australian poet.

E21. Usman Riaz

Apr 19, 2014 · 15m

A young Pakistani musician treats the guitar as percussion — with surprisingly shimmering results.

E22. Federico Aubele

Apr 21, 2014 · 15m

The Argentine singer uses his dark, husky voice to produce a specific effect in these three songs.

E23. Quilt

Apr 26, 2014 · 15m

Interweaving harmonies and guitar lines set the tone for these soft, benevolent, dreamy songs.

E24. Johnnyswim

Apr 28, 2014 · 15m

Impossibly telegenic and charming, the band mixes booming intensity with polish and sparkle.

E25. Cian Nugent

May 3, 2014 · 15m

The Dublin guitarist runs through a ragtime jaunt, a basement-bar choogle and a sad-sack closer.

E26. Public Service Broadcasting

May 5, 2014 · 15m

The duo's sample-laden instrumental music is entertainment as education for the head and feet alike.

E27. Timber Timbre

May 10, 2014 · 15m

See the swamp-folk band play a characteristically eerie and mysterious set in the NPR Music offices.

E28. Chvrches

May 12, 2014 · 15m

The Scottish synth-pop band turns up with a small arsenal of synthesizers to perform three songs.

E29. Iestyn Davies

May 17, 2014 · 15m

See the countertenor and lutenist Thomas Dunford perform John Dowland's melancholy songs.

E30. Ages And Ages

May 20, 2014 · 15m

The band makes the kind of music that can at least briefly restore your faith in humanity.