The Tiny Desk hasn't seen string lights, paper snowflakes and garlands in a while. The holiday show is a tradition we love — and have missed — at NPR Music, so when considering an artist to deck the halls of the office, I kept coming back to Sixpence None the Richer.
So much of the holiday season, especially as we grow older, is about finding a balance between bright lights and dark nights. Sixpence None the Richer's music finds depth in the in-between, with buoyant melodies that twist and twirl, and lyrics underpinned by awe and wonder. "The Last Christmas" slowly waltzes the opening of this set, exploring the endings and beginnings of parenthood, inspired by the birth of guitarist Matt Slocum's first child. Leigh Nash introduces "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" as a holiday standard she listens to year-round, its depictions of angels — whom she brilliantly calls "alien-adjacent" — a source of comfort. Nash also shares "Eternal Gifts," from one of her solo records, her candied voice sitting between a lilt and a twang as pedal steel rumbles and recedes beneath.
But you can't bring Sixpence None the Richer to the Tiny Desk and not ask the band to play some of its most defining work. "Melody of You," to me, is a modern psalm — and of a piece with Christmas, as a love letter from an artist to their creator. And then, of course, there's the song that keeps finding new life. Coming up on its 30 birthday, "Kiss Me" has taken the band around the world and found fans in unexpected places; Slocum joked with me that it's given him cred with his daughters. But "Kiss Me" also provides a simple sweetness at a moment when it's desperately needed. Before she sings, Nash sends us off with this message: "All the hope and love in the world to you, and happy holidays."
And if you are looking for more seasonal cheer, you can stream holiday music 24/7 from NPR stations across the country, exclusively available on the NPR App. Just click on the Music tab.
SET LIST
- "The Last Christmas"
- "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
- "Melody of You"
- "Eternal Gifts"
- "Kiss Me"
MUSICIANS
- Leigh Nash: vocals
- Matt Slocum: guitar
- Justin Cary: bass
- Jon Radford: drums
- Steve Hindalong: percussion
- Phil Madeira: accordion, lap steel
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Lars Gotrich
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Mitra I. Arthur
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
- Tiny Desk Team: Kara Frame, Josh Newell
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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