Tiny Desk: Big Awesome. Laura Mvula Concert

Laura Mvula + Beth Rowley + Peter & Kerry - Mo... — Laura Mvula (Photo: The Queen’s Hall)

Live music is great for practice motivation. When you hear a musician perform live, you get the real deal. No auto-tune, no studio manipulation, just a person, communing with her muse, and letting you share the experience. Live music is a gift that keeps on giving. A great performance (and even a bad one) can give your practice a shot in the arm. Laura Mvula’s Tiny Desk concert is wonderful (video below).

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We’re so lucky (those of us who can afford computers and Web access, that is) that we can now watch live music from the comfort of our own home, while the snow piles up and the roads shut down. Livestream is a great place to find live streaming concerts.

Another great source for live shows, and one of my favorite ways to learn about new musicians is NPR’s “Tiny Desk” concerts. Check out their archives.

Here’s the Tiny Desk concert by Laura Mvula, in support of her debut album Sing to the Moon. What a gorgeous voice she has. Her Tiny Desk concert is different from the album, more intimate and chill, more sparse. Click through to the album for a sample of Laura Mvula in more lush arrangements.