From 2005 until 2017, NPR broadcast live performances from the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Now, in celebration of the venue’s 40th anniversary, that archive of over 100 performances is available for your streaming pleasure through NPR’s website.
The fine folks at National Public Radio have put a tremendous amount of effort into this archive. Each individual concert has been published with its original write-up. Remember a time when “Conor Oberst has been called the voice of his generation”? Us neither, but apparently that happened when he was 24-years-old. In that sense, this isn’t just an abundance of fine performances, it’s also a collection of music criticism — sometimes hyperbolic, but always earnest — by hardworking people who love music.
From the first concert by Bright Eyes in 2005 to the 2017 anniversary party ending with Tank and the Bangas, NPR and the 9:30 Club hosted living legends, rising stars, and underground favorites including Sonic Youth, Death Cab for Cutie, Lucinda Williams, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys, Neko Case, Sleater-Kinney, James Blake, Jenny Lewis, The Black Keys, The National, Animal Collective, Spoon, Wilco, The Raconteurs, Dinosaur Jr., Best Coast, Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, and literally dozens more.
Check out the full list of performances below, and click on any artist to stream their show. It’s worth mentioning that President Trump recently proposed reducing NPR’s budget to $0 by 2023. While Congress has the final say, concerned fans of local journalism and cool free projects like this one could always consider a donation.
2005
Bright Eyes
Bloc Party
David Gray
Lucinda Williams
Secret Machines and Kings of Leon
My Morning Jacket
Son Volt
Death Cab For Cutie
Calexico and Iron and Wine
2006
Belle and Sebastian and The New Pornographers
Arctic Monkeys
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Neko Case
Toots and the Maytals
Mogwai
The Walkmen
Sonic Youth
Gomez
Fiery Furnaces
Sleater-Kinney
Regina Spektor
Jenny Lewis
The Black Keys and Black Angels
OK Go and French Kicks
Cat Power
Ray LaMontagne
2007
Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Explosions In The Sky
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Low with Loney, Dear
The Frames
Ben Gibbard
Andrew Bird
The National
Richard Thompson
The Polyphonic Spree
Femi Kuti
Travis
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the film Once
Gogol Bordello
The Apples in Stereo
Rilo Kiley
Animal Collective
Iron and Wine
Jose Gonzalez
Josh Ritter
Stars
Spoon
The New Pornographers
Nickel Creek
Broken Social Scene
The Hold Steady
2008
Wilco
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Nada Surf
DeVotchKa
The Raconteurs
The Ting Tings
Spiritualized
Of Montreal
Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
2009
Andrew Bird
Animal Collective
Dan Deacon
Metric
The Dead Weather
M. Ward
Sunny Day Real Estate
The Gossip
Dinosaur Jr.
Benjamin Gibbard and Jay Farrar
2010
Shout Out Louds
Public Image Ltd.
The New Pornographers
Superchunk
The Tallest Man On Earth
Deerhunter
Jonsi
2011
Best Coast and Wavves
Bon Iver
Beirut
2012
The Kills
JEFF The Brotherhood
The Soul Rebels
Galactic
Kishi Bashi
Of Montreal
fun.
Spiritualized
M83
Best Coast
Wye Oak
Dirty Projectors
Patrick Watson
Grizzly Bear
2013
James Blake
Volcano Choir
Marijuana Deathsquads
Poliça
2014
Future Islands
tUnE-yArDs
Sylvan Esso
2015
2016
Glen Hansard, Sharon Van Etten, Kishi Bashi, Laura Gibson, The Suffers, and Dan Deacon
Savages
Explosions In The Sky
Lucius
Warpaint
2017
Gaby Moreno
Robert Glasper and Bilal
Kronos Quartet
Margo Price
Bon Iver
Jeff Tweedy
Tank and the Bangas