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 interviewed 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 BobBoilen.info. He performs contradance music and has a podcast of contradance music that he produces with his son Julian.
Boilen's first book, Your Song Changed My Life, was published in April 2016 by HarperCollins.
-
Horace Andy performs in his signature raspy, gruff tenor from the living room of producer Adrian Sherwood.
-
Lizzy McAlpine produces a quiet, cinematic set with just a few guitars and expressive vocal harmonies.
-
The inspiring Angélique Kidjo graces the Tiny Desk for our 1,000th concert.
-
The nine-piece band filled the room with joy and a sound that's unique in Tiny Desk history, mixing shamanistic ritual sounds with Korean folk songs.
-
The two Tiny Desk veterans bring a spirit of serious fun to each other's songs.
-
NPR's video team recently caught up with Amador in Brooklyn to hear how her life has changed since finding out she'd won our Tiny Desk Contest. This is her journey.
-
The band, led by singer and songwriter Felix Bechtolsheimer, performs dark but beautiful songs from its evocative 2022 album People In Cars.
-
The band Animal Collective performs a transfixing, unpredictable concert at MASS MoCA.
-
The band from Glasgow gives a charming, magnificent performance of songs from its new album, plus a classic tune from If You're Feeling Sinister.
-
Choosing one winner from all the incredible entries NPR Music receives each year is no small feat — but this year, one songwriter gave a captivating performance that rose to the top.