Live In Concert from NPR's All Songs Considered Folgen

Singer Omara Portuondo was part of a musical scene in 1950s Cuba that produced an entire generation of musical innovators and pioneers. The two classic boleros she performs in this Tiny Desk Concert are a reflection of the passion for life she instills in every performance.

The songs on July Flame orbit around Veirs' acoustic-guitar playing and voice. But it's her idiosyncratic lyrics and melodic flourishes that imbue her music with sun-dappled warmth; hers is the sound of immense, wide-open spaces. When a very pregnant Veirs settled in for this performance behind Bob Boilen's desk, that same kind-hearted intimacy shone through.

As the frontman for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Alec Ounsworth wrote brash, poppy songs. But the singer and songwriter clearly had more music to make. In the fall of 2009, he released a solo record called 'Mo' Beauty', an album he wrote and recorded in New Orleans with a number of local musicians. Here, Ounsworth performs songs from 'Mo' Beauty', accompanied only by two guitars.