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Watch an entrancing set by the decorated soul singer, who'd visited NPR on a difficult day. Porter's music can be serious and heartwarming, but it never loses its sense of wonder and delight.

The former Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman plugs in for a characteristically loud four-song set — three from his new solo album (Beauty and Ruin) and one from the band that launched his career.

Two saxophonists and a drummer call what they make "cave music" — but it's just as powerful at the Tiny Desk. See the trio blend elements of jazz, rock and aggressive dance tracks.

The quartet specializes in a distinct strain of improvised music: jazz that aims at fun by bouncing off the walls. Led by slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein, the band parties to the themes of Nino Rota.

Wunderkind Trevor Powers is known for his beguiling bedroom pop, but he brings much greater energy to this set at Stubb's in Austin for NPR Music's SXSW showcase. Watch Youth Lagoon's complete set.

For the better part of three decades, the pianist has been widely recognized as one of the fiercest and most inventive pianists in improvised music. Here, she rides the rhythmic boost of a particularly kinetic quartet, featuring tap dancer Maurice Chestnut.

The New York rapper whips his three-foot-long glow-in-the-dark hair back and forth during a memorable set at NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's in Austin, Texas. Watch the entire performance.

The singer performs with the ease and swagger of a man comfortable in his ways. He carries his songs the way he carries his old guitar: out in the open, no case, almost as an extension of his body.

The Walkmen went on hiatus at the end of 2013. In this three-song set, singer Hamilton Leithauser demonstrates that he's lost none of his power, even as he's matured and loosened as a performer.

With his drummer son Spencer, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy performs three songs from their new album, Sukierae — plus a cover of "You Are Not Alone," which the elder Tweedy wrote for Mavis Staples.

The veteran jam-rock guitarist's dedication to his instrument is matched only by his imagination. There's joy in hearing Kimock play acoustically, with no filter between his ideas and his fingers.

Watch the Virginia band sweep the NPR crowd off its feet with a collection of exquisite boleros by Puerto Rican composer Sylvia Rexach.

Now Slowdive's first album in two decades has a name: Slowdive. Watch shapes uncoil in a video for the gracefully subdued new single.

Moses Sumney, standing alone on a stage, along the harbor of Newport, delivered a palliative set that explored doubt, loneliness and self-care.

The trio's sound has grown to include elements beyond sisterly harmonies and acoustic guitar. But here, Joseph strips down to its original setup, playing newer songs the way they could have been.

The shoegaze duo turns down the noise for bustling dream-pop on its new single, accompanied by a video featuring guitars dropped like bombs from a fighter jet and Jasamine White-Gluz's floating head.

The Cuban pianist thrilled the NPR office with an intense performance that was as melodic as it was rhythmic.

The country rocker plays the self-assured title track of her new album live at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida.

The rapper has spent the year on an extended victory tour. Here are the spoils, recorded in a stripped-down set with a minimal backing track and longtime producer Zaytoven on keys.

Watch the 77-year-old jazz-funk icon perform "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" (and more) at the Tiny Desk.