Update: The people have spoken. Bandits On The Run is the fan-favorite in this week's Desks of the Tiny Desk Contest vote!
The New York City-based group's soulful song "Paris" took you on a journey and picked up the title for favorite desk of the Tiny Desk Contest along the way. Congratulations to all six nominees, whose videos you can watch below.
Because desks are kind of our thing, we also put together this supercut video: a celebration of some of our favorite deskoveries from this year's Tiny Desk Contest entries!
Next week, we'll announce our final just-for-fun, fan-favorite vote. As a reminder, these votes are separate from the Tiny Desk Contest judging. It's just another opportunity for us to feature all of the creative musicians who have entered this year's Contest. And as always, we hope you'll take some time to browse through all eligible entries on our entry browser on the Tiny Desk Contest site.
Cherie Call and Lyndy Butler, "There For You"
Cherie Call and Lyndy Butler are Utah singer-songwriters who live a couple hundred miles apart. To make this Tiny Desk Contest video, the musicians met in the middle – in Fillmore, Utah, in the state's oldest existing governmental building. The two chose their sweet and uplifting folk song "There For You" for their entry, and filmed it at a desk that used to belong to Utah's first governor.
Morticai, "Trees and Clouds"
Most artists who enter the Tiny Desk Contest find a pre-assembled desk to feature in their videos, but not Jeddy Grant. Grant, who writes and performs music as Morticai, took things a step further and built his own desk for his entry, in which you can watch Grant and his friend Trevor Lucier construct it in the time-lapse that starts this entry. After it's all set up, he creates the slow-building electronic soundscape of his song "Trees and Clouds."
Almond&Olive, "My Louise"
For the Tiny Desk Contest, we're glad to see desks of all sizes – but it obviously warms our hearts just a little to see some truly teensy-tiny desks. Illinois duo Almond&Olive gave us one such heartwarming moment. The pair's video features an itty-bitty desk framed by mini paper cutouts of its members, Ollie Davidson and Natalie Alms, with their instruments. It's quirky and adorable – just like the duo's folksy love song, "My Louise."
Rashad thaPoet, "Real"
Rashad thaPoet is a hip-hop artist and spoken word poet from Nashville, Tennessee. For his Tiny Desk Contest entry, he teamed up with R&B/jazz duo The Street Band Clan and headed to the Civil Rights Room of the Nashville Public Library. It's a fitting setting for his song "Real," which tackles themes of empowerment and racial justice.
The Lionfish, "She Lifts Me Up"
Since the Tiny Desk is where Bob Boilen actually works every day, we love seeing Contest entries that feature other people's actual workspaces. For The Lionfish's entry, the group took up residence at the offices of Mark Schwartz, DMD – aka the desk of the band's bassist. "She Lifts Me Up" is a groovy rock tune complete with a keyboard solo by none other than Schwartz's son, Robby.
Bandits On The Run, "Paris"
New York City-based group Bandits On The Run has spent a few years busking in the city's subways, often singing the same song the band used to enter the Tiny Desk Contest: "Paris." The group says the song is about "reimagining your dreams and letting your desires surprise you." Regina Strayhorn's soulful voice is backed up by harmonies by her bandmates Sydney Shepherd (who also plays cello) and Adrian Enscoe (who also plays guitar and provides some percussion). The group set its video in St. John's Lutheran Church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; its desk, covered in books, seems like the perfect place to sit and ponder your next adventure.
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