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JPR Music is a place that celebrates music discovery. It's a place that collects what we think is exciting on the contemporary music scene, in the State of Jefferson and beyond. JPR Music features exclusive Live Sessions, reviews by JPR music hosts, NPR Tiny Desk concerts and First Listens of new releases. Visit often ... and re-discover music!

Shovels & Rope: Tiny Desk Concert

Shovels & Rope's presence in the NPR Music offices attracted plenty of interest; many in attendance had long since fallen in love with the husband-and-wife duo's mix of rowdy folk-rock and rootsy balladeering. But once Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent showed up, the office quickly lost sight of the approaching performance, as the murmurs began: " There's a dog in the office there's a dog in the office there's a dog in the office!" You could practically see our coworkers' brains short out from a combination of cognitive dissonance and canine adoration.

But, as endearing as our new friend was, Shovels & Rope soon won back the crowd's attention. After opening with the plaintive ballad "Carnival," the South Carolina duo ripped through one of its signature rockers — "Birmingham," during which the pair held eye contact sweetly while singing in unison — before closing with "Bad Luck," a clattering gem for which the two swap instruments (he on guitar, she on drums). The song, originally from a Michael Trent solo album, most recently appeared on a deluxe version of Shovels & Rope's 2012 debut, the winning and appropriately titled O' Be Joyful.

Set List

  • "Carnival"
  • "Birmingham"
  • "Bad Luck"
  • Credits

    Producers: Bob Boilen, Denise DeBelius; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Parker Miles Blohm, Chloe Coleman, Denise DeBelius; photo by Chloe Coleman/NPR

    Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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    Stephen Thompson
    Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)