NPR

NPR Music's Best Live Sessions of 2021

The best Live Sessions of 2021 feature performances from Japanese Breakfast, Samm Henshaw, Yola and many more.
Valerie June performed "Call Me A Fool" for WUNC.

Even if 2021 hasn't quite brought the return to normal we'd hoped for, NPR's Member stations have had a busy year producing some great live music sessions. For your listening pleasure, here are the best of the bunch, featuring studio performances, home recordings and socially-distanced outdoor sets.

For more sessions from all your favorite public radio stations, be sure to visit our Live Sessions page.


Arlo Parks, "Hurt"

"Hurt" was the second single from Arlo Parks' breakthrough 2021 release, Collapsed In Sunbeams. Parks shot this KXT Dallas "On the Couch" video from London, where she made coffee on her patio and then stepped into her studio to record "Hurt." —Mike Henry, KXT


BEABADOOBEE, "Coffee"

For our first session in over 21 months, we rebranded our performance studio to make it more cozy and intimate — which was the perfect vibe to welcome the lo-fi, viral

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