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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.

Spirit Family Reunion: Tiny Desk Concert

Spirit Family Reunion was my favorite find at this year's Newport Folk Festival. The group makes music I'd call "new old-timey," but which its members call "open-door gospel" — gospel music that's not tied to any particular religious denomination.

You'll hear fiddle, banjo, guitar and washboard, all gathered around a single microphone in an old-style tradition. An unsigned band living in Brooklyn, Spirit Family Reunion makes music filled with joy, perfect for a Tiny Desk Concert. Its members told Weekend Edition Sunday's David Greene that they've been traveling the country in a beat-up Chevy conversion van, sleeping on floors and wherever else they can lay their heads. The band recently self-released a new album, No Separation, and its songs translate perfectly into foot-stomping singalongs in the NPR Music offices.

Set List

  • "Leave Your Troubles At The Gate"
  • "Green Rocky Road"
  • "I'll Find A Way"
  • Credits

    Producer: Bob Boilen; Editor: Denise DeBelius; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Emily Bogle, Lauren Rock; photo by Ryan Smith/NPR

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

    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.
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