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NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concerts
Tiny Desk Concerts from NPR's All Songs Considered features your favorite musicians performing at Bob Boilen's desk in the NPR Music office. This is the AUDIO only archive.Are you a fancy A/V nerd and need video? Visit our new Tiny Desk Concert video channel. Eye-popping video and all of the music you've come to expect.

Punch Brothers: Tiny Desk Concert

By Bob Boilen
Published March 16, 2015 at 1:03 PM MDT

Spoiler alert: The Punch Brothers came to the Tiny Desk on Chris Thile's birthday. We made him a cake and gave him an NPR surprise! This wasn't the first time the brilliant mandolinist had brought a project to my desk, it was his fourth. The last time was with his longtime band Nickel Creek — and his new braces. So the cake we presented here was inscribed "Brace Yourself Chris Happy Birthday." He blew out the candles and then, along with this versatile and talented group, rocked our world.

Punch Brothers mixes bluegrass, pop and classical music. It's a tough combination to imagine, and an even harder one to make work, but this band of Thile, violinist Gabe Witcher, banjoist Noam Pikelny, guitarist Chris Eldridge and bassist Paul Kowert makes the unimaginable contagious and fun. They push boundaries and make music like no one else.

Set List

  • "My Oh My"

  • "Boll Weevil"

  • "Magnet"

  • "Julep"

    • Credits

    Producers: Bob Boilen, Maggie Starbard; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Morgan McCloy, Nick Michael, Maggie Starbard; Assistant Producer: Carlos Waters; photo by Carlos Waters/NPR

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Tags
    Tiny Desk Concerts
    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.
    See stories by Bob Boilen
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