January 17, 2025

by Otis Hart

Watch the latest Tiny Desk concerts — or enter the Tiny Desk Contest — on NPR.org.

Before we get into this week’s dazzling array of new Tiny Desk concerts, I wanted to share some exciting news from our little corner of NPR headquarters. Every year around this time, we stage the Tiny Desk Contest, which, despite the name, is not a March Madness-esque bracket of superstars trying to one up each other. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: The Contest is our attempt to identify the best undiscovered musician or band in the United States (and its Caribbean territories). Each winter, we invite any U.S. resident without a record contract to submit a live performance video, with one stipulation: The mise en scene must include a desk. We watch every single submission (seriously), which takes a while, but at the end of the process, our Tiny Desk Contest judges select one grand prize winner to play a Tiny Desk concert.

So, consider this newsletter your invitation. And if you’re not a musician (I know most of us aren’t), tell the music maker in your life. All submitted videos that meet our guidelines will appear on our Tiny Desk Contest page for the NPR audience to watch. Join in on the fun and enter by Feb. 10.

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The Latest Tiny Desks

The Red Clay Strays: It wasn’t a given that the Strays could rein in the grandeur that its fanbase relishes to fit the modest Tiny Desk, but this set proves why it’s one of the fastest-rising ensembles in any genre right now.
From The Top: Something kind of miraculous takes place when teenagers take over the Tiny Desk. Their astounding performances confirm a bright forecast for the future of music.
Machel Montano: Stretch and loosen up before pushing play on this one, because there is no sitting still when soca fills the room.
Isata Kanneh-Mason: The rising star of the British Kanneh-Mason family offers vigorous Chopin, serene Liszt and a stirring spiritual at the trusty Tiny Desk upright piano.
Sabrina Carpenter: 2024's breakout star reimagines her biggest hits from her Grammy-nominated album Short n' Sweet, while sharing stories of how the tracks came to life.

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Around Public Radio:

WFUV in New York shared a video of Sammy Rae & The Friends performing “Jackie Onassis” live at The Sheen Center.
WMOT in Nashville continues to release videos of 2024 AMERICANAFEST performances, including Uncle Lucius’ “Keep The Wolves Away.”
KCRW in Los Angeles hosted U.K. rocker Nilüfer Yanya who performed songs from My Method Actor, an album that earned a spot on our favorite albums of 2024.
The Current in Minneapolis had The Heavy Heavy stop by their studio to play songs from its debut album One Of A Kind.
WXPN’s World Cafe recently shared an interview with and performance by 2024 indie breakout star MJ Lenderman, who performed four songs from Manning Fireworks.

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