Watch the 2022 Tiny Desk Contest winner’s Tiny Desk concert

Plus, BTS visits the White House

View this email online June 4, 2022 by Marissa Lorusso This week, we’re sharing the first Tiny Desk concert taped in front of an audience in more than 800 days — plus, our favorite music of May. Bob Boilen/NPR Last week, NPR Music hosted the first Tiny Desk concert with an audience in more than 800 days. The featured performer was Alisa Amador, a songwriter from Boston and the winner of this year’s Tiny Desk Contest. I asked my colleague Elle Mannion, who manages the Tiny Desk Contest, to write a little bit about Amador’s visit. Here’s what she said: It felt strange at first: returning to NPR’s Washington, D.C., headquarters; greeting colleagues with a cautious fist bump; smiling nervously under our masks. We rediscovered the dusty trinkets left behind by artists like Adele and H.E.R. that line the Desk shelves — physical reminders of the hundreds of intimate performances we’d previously witnessed in that tiny space. But as we welcomed Amador and her band into the office and the Tiny Desk production team prepared for soundcheck, being back at the Desk felt natural again, almost as if we’d never left. As Bob Boilen introduced Amador to the audience of NPR staff, the feeling in the room was a palpable mix of jubilant anticipation and an understanding of the moment’s significance. This Tiny Desk concert felt celebratory — a victory for Amador, who had entered the Contest five years in a row before winning; a homecoming for the Tiny Desk team members who had been working remotely; and a thank you to the millions of Tiny Desk fans across the globe who’ve stayed with us over the past two years.  Amador put on a beautiful performance that included her Contest-winning song, “Milonga accidental,” and some jazzy tunes that showcased her impressive vocal range and endearing stage presence. Before she performed the final track, “Together,” Amador acknowledged that a lot has happened since the pandemic forced us to stop filming Tiny Desk concerts in the office. The song is “a celebration of the revolutionary power of love in the face of such division and opposition and challenges,” Amador said. “We need to remember how not alone we are. I dedicate this to all of you.” Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music Every month, my colleague Lars Gotrich asks our team: What’s the song or album you couldn’t stop listening to this month? In May, those answers included some heavy hitters — like Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny — plus some more personal picks, like the microtonal guitar music of Julia Reidy and the otherworldly R&B of Ravyn Lanae. Ethel Cain’s debut album, Preacher’s Daughter, matches a harrowing dream-pop sound with gothic Americana imagery. To borrow the words of Flannery O'Connor, Cain’s discography feels "Christ-haunted,” in which heaven and hell are places on Earth, writes Meaghan Garvey. Angel Olsen’s beautiful new album, Big Time, was made in the shadow of intense grief and newfound love. To tell these cinematic human stories, writes critic Katie Presley, the songwriter made a wise choice: she turned to the sounds of retro country. (You can also hear a conversation about Big Time and other great new albums out this week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered.) Composer Ingram Marshall explored beauty in all its light and shadow. To mark his passing, this week’s NPR Classical playlist features a wide range of Marshall's music, from the bellowing Fog Tropes to the haunting Three Penitential Visions, and a piece for gamelan. Featuring Global K-Pop stars BTS visited the White House this week to speak with President Biden about anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination. “Equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences,” said Suga, one of the group’s seven members. The Kyoto-based band Otoboke Beaver produces some of the fiercest and funniest punk of the moment. On its new album, Super Champon, the band embraces an irreverent strain of feminism without losing its sense of humor. Tiny Desk NPR June is Black Music Month, and the Tiny Desk is celebrating with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts that honor the past, present and future of Black music. This week, we featured performances by Nigerian star Adekunle Gold and Blue Note recording artist James Francies. One More Thing American Idol contestants, ranked by Pop Culture Happy Hour listeners Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). Need a new playlist? 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