Tiny Desk Concert has been one of the best things that has happened for music over the past decade. I love it so much, that I made a post about it.
And one of the things that makes Tiny Desk Concert special is that it features artists you wouldn’t even have known because let’s face it, there’s only a finite amount of music in the world you can hear, and obviously you’re not gonna hear everything.
But then comes the Tiny Desk Contest.
The Tiny Desk Contest is an annual contest that NPR has held since 2015 by inviting musicians to submit a video of one of their songs, and a jury of musicians and NPR staff choose a winner to play a Tiny Desk Concert.
And I want to share with you my top 3 contest winners’ concerts so far in no particular order. These are the ones you should listen to, as in right now.
Alisa Amador
This was the first Tiny Desk Concert that happened in person since the pandemic started, and I think Alisa’s music was very captivating to help reflect people’s lives during the pandemic, the emotions, the people we lost, and moving forward with life now. Her last song “Together” was as beautiful to listen to now as I listened to it a year ago.
Fantastic Negrito
This was the first one I saw, well because it was the first winner lol. I was just taken aback by the raw emotion, of the life of Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, a.k.a. Fantastic Negrito. The man oozes out the blues and swag, you’ll feel it a few seconds into his first song, and once he gets you, you’re in for a ride, I tell you. And by the time you know it, 15 minutes have come by, and you’re compelled to press play and listen to it all over again.
Tank And The Bangas
This one. Oh, this one. The first time I listened to this, I laughed, I got hyped, and for the first time, I cried watching a Tiny Desk Concert. The way Tank (the main vocalist) mixes poetry and singing in a way that just amazes me. In one of my classes for school, we talked about using words as a theater of the mind, and this entire concert was it. The way their songs just makes an absolutely beautiful picture in my head of different emotions. I’m even having a hard time not shedding a tear while writing this. Watch out for their last song “Butterflies”. It’s literally a roller coaster of emotions. I can’t even describe it.