As this newsletter goes out, our team is reviewing the final entries to the 2026 Contest — that’s over 6,000 entries! Whether you've submitted for the first time or for a decade, over 6,000 of you took a chance and sent in something meaningful, vulnerable and unique. Today, we’ll do a deep dive into just what that number means and how our incredible community is reflected within it. Welcome to your 2026 Tiny Desk Contest yearbook!
Top row: Noah Kesselman & Sophie Patenaude; bottom row: Karaiya & Evan Greer
3,935 of you entered the Contest for the first time. We’re happy to see you! Here are a few of the faces we’re welcoming to the community: Winona sings “River Song” in a moody room of reds and blues; Meowmixtapes played every instrument in “All I Want is You” and even gave us a guitar neck angle; and Noah Kesselman, the self described “heart break-aholic,” reflected on his past relationships with “Never Love Again.”
Last year, John was our reigning champion in the name game. This year we found Chris, Christopher, and Christina (plus a few Kris and Kristens) all over the place — 221 to be exact.
At least 164 of you performed in a language other than English. Katina incorporated traditional Greek sounds and instruments into “Love at the Beach.” Kouchera sang in Haitian Creole in “Lakay Mwen.” Malcanthearyou translated her song to American Sign Language. And we welcome back Agalisiga Mackey whose music sung in the Cherokee language was featured on Weekend Editionin 2024.
A few weeks ago, we wrote about the handful of protest entries we’d come across. We’ve since found more than 150 entries that speak to these times. It’s encouraging to see artists band together to create music that inspires. Evan Greer turned a protest into a choir, Adrian Bourgeois sang for Renee Good, and Chase the Comet transformed its sound to uplift their story as immigrants.
At least 113 of you took your desks out into the world, performing in unconventional places, including Lillian Frances’ bouldering expedition, Dense Faro’s cave spelunking and Sophie Patenaude nestled in the snow surrounded by fairy lights.
We saw at least 96 creative interpretations of the desk. The Secret Circus Musical’s desk has a face and mustache (!) and Sophiya Sweet recreates the desk that she lost in last year’s LA wildfires.
There were entries from all 50 states. Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, too. Just like last year, the biggest turnout comes from California — the state where our past two winners have hailed from. Check out Karaiya from Carolina, PR and her performance of “Corazón de Melocotón” sung surrounded by books by Puerto Rican writers.
We’ve stuffed a lot of big bands behind the Tiny Desk — just recently Daniel Caesar brought a whole choir! It seems like 42 of you took note with big band performances like Derry & the Dirty Dishes’ full on dance party of background vocalists.
Top row: Sophiya Sweet & Henry Mansfield; bottom row: The Secret Circus Musical & Paige King Johnson
We heard at least 34 songs for mothers and grandmother like the mother-son pair Avie Sheck & Uma as well Maia Kamil’s reflection on her grandmother
We’ve been hosting this Contest for 12 years (over a decade!) and we feel so lucky that some (at least 2!) of you have grown with us, entering, every single year — like the familiar faces in Boxcar and Parade Chic. We love watching your music evolve.
The 2026 Tiny Desk Contest is presented by Capital One and supported by Rivian
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One more thing: We’re always looking for ways to keep the Contest growing and ensure that it reflects the community who created it. That starts with hearing from the independent artists who submit year after year, or are just finding us now. Tap the button below and tell us a bit about yourself. It’s completely anonymous and your answers won’t be connected to our entry in any way.
Even though the entry period is over, we’re still in the thick of the Contest season. As the judges look over your entries, we’ll be sharing a behind the scenes look into the process here in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to find a winner!
From the Desk,
NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest team
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