Only eligible entries can win the Contest. Does your entry have what it takes? We’ve got a quick and easy way to help you find out!
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When you enter the 2025 Tiny Desk Contest, you join a nationwide community of music-makers and creators. Enter now through 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 10, 2025.
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Hailing from Sacramento, Calif., The Philharmonik is a producer, singer, rapper and multi-instrumentalist whose music has a palpable sense of urgency and depth. Talented and versatile, passionate and personal, The Philharmonik is an undeniable creative force.
Led by singer-songwriter Emma Hardyman’s soaring vocals and intricate arrangements, Little Moon is a Utah band that mixes folk, pop and indie rock. The group’s powerful Tiny Desk Contest winning entry, “Wonder Eye,” is about how “accepting the mysterious, shadowy nature of death can deepen one's sense of humanity and soften the ways we see ourselves and each other.”
Hailing from Boston, Mass., Alisa Amador is a singer-songwriter with a powerful voice whose music explores jazz, funk and folk styles, all rooted in the spirit of the Latin music she grew up with. Amador impressed the Tiny Desk Contest judges with her tender performance of “Milonga accidental,” which she calls “an ode to in-between-ness – to having several identities at once, to feeling split between cultures and languages.”
NEFFY is a singer-songwriter from Arlington, Va., with a stunning, singular voice whose songs combine influences from folk, soul and R&B. Her entry video for “Wait Up,” which reflects on the healing power of nature, is a testament to her honest, emotional songwriting. Since teaching herself guitar as a teenager, NEFFY has played hundreds of shows in New York and Washington, D.C., and says she considers live performances as the best part of her creative process.
Hailing from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Linda Diaz is a singer-songwriter — and former scholastic chess champion — with a sparkling stage presence. Her euphoric and calming music swirls R&B hooks with soulful melodies, often wrapping powerful, self-affirming messages in a warm yet refreshing sound.
Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Quinn Christopherson is an Athabaskan and Inupiaq songwriter who combines thoughtful songwriting with a powerful sense of perspective. His music is warm and vulnerable; in it, he reflects on his childhood, honors the relationships in his life and addresses his role as a transgender individual navigating Alaska's social landscape.
Naia Izumi's entry video for "Soft Spoken," recorded in his home studio in Los Angeles, showcases his virtuoistic talent and the gentle spirit he brings to his music.
New Orleans’ Tank and the Bangas conveys its freewheeling spirit through a sound that combines pop, hip-hop, funk, spoken word and musical theater. The band’s entry video won over our judges with its undeniable, joyful energy.
Since winning the Contest, Tank and the Bangas has played to sold-out crowds across the United States and Europe, including performing at Coachella and headlining NPR Music's 10th birthday party.
Gaelynn Lea has been playing violin for more than 20 years. She builds on a repertoire of traditional Celtic and American fiddle music, writing original songs that incorporate folk-rock influences, looping tracks and an inventive style.
Since winning the Contest, Gaelynn has toured the world and played at renowned venues including The Kennedy Center and House of Blues Chicago. She is also an advocate for people with disabilities.
Fantastic Negrito’s winning entry in the 2015 Tiny Desk Contest was a raw, soulful performance captured at a makeshift desk in a freight elevator.
Since winning the Tiny Desk Contest, Fantastic Negrito has played at a number of major music festivals and at Madison Square Garden, and has won three Grammy awards.
Carter is the host and series producer for Tiny Desk concerts, and has produced shows by Juvenile, Kelela and the late Mac Miller among many, many more.
Ayana Contreras hosts Soulful Strut on KUVO Jazz in Denver, where she serves as VP of Radio at Rocky Mountain Public Media, overseeing both KUVO and urban alternative station The Drop.
Contreras has co-hosted Alt.Latino, the pioneering NPR podcast and radio show celebrating Latin music and culture, since co-creating it in 2010. He has brought artists including Juanes, Chucho Valdés and Sheila E. to the Tiny Desk.
As the award-winning host of WXPN’s World Cafe, America’s most listened-to public radio music program, Douris has conducted wide-ranging interviews with artists from Bruce Springsteen to Questlove to Brandi Carlile.
A believer in the transformative power of music and art, Silverman has run the publicity firm Motormouthmedia for over 25 years, representing artists across the genre spectrum. Her current roster includes artists such as Thundercat, Four Tet and Animal Collective.
The host and senior producer of All Songs Considered, Hilton helped create Tiny Desk in 2008, including giving the series its name. Sessions he’s produced at the Desk include TV on the Radio, Weyes Blood and Weezer.
The Bay Area rapper’s 2024 Tiny Desk concert was named one of the 10 best of the year by NPR Music. He’s also made a splash as an entrepreneur with Good Compenny, the independent arts collective he co-founded.
On albums including 2021’s a liquid breakfast and last year’s TRENCH, the Los Angeles-based singer, wrapper and songwriter has blurred the lines between pop, R&B and experimental trap with songs that serve as anthems to nonconformity.
Hurray for the Riff Raff is the project of Alynda Mariposa Segarra, a Tiny Desk alum whom Pitchfork has lauded as "one of their generation's most fearless folk-rock storytellers.” Their latest album, The Past Is Still Alive, was named one of NPR Music's Best of 2024.
Armed with a striking vocal range, the New Jersey-based Fousheé has consistently defied boundaries with her frenetic R&B-punk sound. Her 2024 album Pointy Heights is rooted in her family’s Jamaican origins and features co-production from Steve Lacy.
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