NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest is back for its eighth year, welcoming submissions from artists in all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands — and, for the first time in Contest history, Puerto Rico.
"The amount of creativity around this contest is extraordinary," said Bob Boilen, creator of the Tiny Desk series. "Thousands of entries from all over the country and it's not only a thrill to watch these entries, but it's fun to make one too. So do it!"
Since the debut of the Tiny Desk Contest in 2015, thousands of musicians have created their own videos in hopes of being chosen to perform as part of NPR Music's signature music discovery series. NPR is once again calling for unsigned musicians to submit their entries at NPR.org/tinydeskcontest, start
This year's panel of judges includes three Tiny Desk alums: Puerto Rican singer/songwriter iLe, rapper Big K.R.I.T and musician/author Michelle Zauner of the band Japanese Breakfast and singer/songwriter Raveena. They will be joined by Nate Chinen from NPR member stations WBGO, plus Tiny Desk series creator Bob Boilen and Tiny Desk producer Bobby Carter.
In addition to playing their very own Tiny Desk concert, the 2022 Contest winner will appear on NPR's All Things Considered and headline the five-stop Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour. And before this year's winner is announced, NPR Music will host more episodes of Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf, a live streamed video series where contest judges share some of their favorite entries on NPR Music's YouTube channel.
Past winners of the Tiny Desk Contest have gone on to greater success on bigger stages. Fantastic Negrito, the inaugural winner, has won three Grammy awards; Tank and the Bangas performed at Coachella in 2018 and received a Grammy nomination for best new artist; Quinn Christopherson has joined artists including Portugal. The Man and Lucy Dacus on tour; and, most recently, Linda Diaz performed at the BRIC JazzFest Brooklyn in 2021.
To enter the Contest, unsigned musicians must play one original song at a desk, upload a video of the performance to YouTube and submit a completed entry form at NPR.org/tinydeskcontest. NPR Music welcomes music from all genres and entrants from previous years with new material. Artists must be at least 18 years old and live in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico to enter. Though there can only be one grand prize winner each year, many other artists who submit are chosen to be featured on the All Songs Considered blog, on NPR Music's YouTube channel, on NPR's broadcast news magazines or in the Tiny Desk Contest newsletter. Please see complete rules for entry.
Since the launch of the Tiny Desk concert series in 2008, more than 900 performances have been recorded at the Tiny Desk — Bob Boilen's festive workspace at NPR headquarters — which is adorned with years of music mementos and memorabilia. Tiny Desk concerts attract 16 million viewers per month and unify a passionate community around the love of music discovery. The series has provided a unique stage for artists across the genre spectrum and at every phase of their careers, including performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley,Freddie Gibbs, Toro y Moi,Weezer ,the characters of Sesame Street and more. Since 2020, in response to ongoing social-distancing measures, NPR Music has been producing Tiny Desk (home) concerts. This latest iteration of the Tiny Desk curates performances from around the world, with the same spirit — stripped-down sets in an intimate setting — while providing a unique look into the creative spaces of artists including Lenny Kravitz, Roddy Ricch, Dirty Projectors, BEAM, Little Dragon, Soccer Mommy, Lianne La Havas, Baby Rose and more.
