Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller have a quality about them that is timeless, reassuring, and wonderfully genuine; they seem like old friends who have never entirely lost their enthusiasm for the music which brought them together, and this affection is evident in all the notes they play. Whether it's a quiet laugh exchanged on stage or the gentle harmonies that surround their lyrics, they convey a real sense of humanity and feeling which is uncommon in the current music scene.

At the NPR Tiny Desk concert we get the opportunity to see this magic performed in person. The piece they played, taken from their collaborative album Buddy and Jim, is a celebration of music just as much as it is of friendship. Boilen himself put it exactly as he said: "There's something endearing, old-timey, and almost vaudevillian about Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale — even the way they bill themselves as 'Buddy and Jim'."

Miller and Lauderdale are not only experienced musicians but also key figures in the Americana genre. Buddy Miller has played guitar on stage with famous artists such as Robert Plant and Alison Krauss during their Raising Sand tour, and at the same time, Jim Lauderdale's songwriting has influenced the careers of country stars like George Strait and Patty Loveless. The two have a clear appreciation for the roots of country music, which is evident in their work across bluegrass, blues, and even rock n' roll, together with a fair amount of humor and humility.

A notable aspect of their partnership is the radio programme they co-host on Outlaw Country, during which their good humour leads them to exchange silly and rather cheesy jokes and talk about music. It is this lively atmosphere that has made their performance on the Tiny Desk so impressive. When they were joking with the audience between songs such as "I Lost My Job [insert a dramatic pause here] of Loving You," it was obvious that they are not only skilled in their profession but also storytellers who take pleasure in the highs and lows of life.

Their music is not merely concerned with heartbreak or loss; it covers the entire course of life. Whether or not they are singing about lost love or about a new hope, there is a sincerity in their voices which draws you in. That is the reason their harmonies sound like home, being both familiar and at the same time full of surprises, just as the country music they have helped to shape over the years.

Buddy and Jim show us that country music is not merely a genre but a vibrant, living tradition which develops and changes as the people who play it do, and there are few musicians as full of heart and soul in their playing as these two experienced musicians.