Photo: Little Moon | By Yanius Alvarado Matos, NPR.org | Today [May 16th] on Morning Edition, NPR Music announced the winner of the ninth edition of the Tiny Desk Contest: Little Moon. Little Moon will perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk before embarking on the Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour. The Tiny Desk Contest winner will headline the On The Road tour with stops in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Houston.
Little Moon’s group members are Emma Hardyman (lead vocals/guitar), Nathan Hardyman (bass/guitar), Bly Wallentine (keys/bass), Bridget Jackson (harp), Chris Shemwell (drums), and Grace Johnson (electric guitar/keys). The Utah band was selected as the winner out of nearly 6,000 submissions from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
The band’s performance of its song “Wonder Eye” captivated this year’s Tiny Desk Contest judging panel — Tiny Desk creator and host of All Songs Considered Bob Boilen and Tiny Desk producer Bobby Carter; Tiny Desk alums Sharon Van Etten, Baby Rose and Sudan Archives; plus Albina Cabrera from NPR Member station KEXP.
“‘Wonder Eye’ was a clear and unanimous winner amongst our judges and for a good reason,” said Bob Boilen. “It’s an explosive tune with a deeply emotional story. It’s a song of grieving and understanding with a dynamic performance.”
Emma Hardyman says the song 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.”
“When reviewing Tiny Desk Contest submissions, I seek something extraordinary and emotion-evoking,” said Bobby Carter. “Emma’s voice and the bands’ ability to take the music to unexpected places pushed their song to the top of a heap of wonderful artists. I’m blown away.”
This is Little Moon’s fourth time participating in the Tiny Desk Contest; they have submitted a video each year since 2020. “Winning Tiny Desk after four years is magical, mind-blowing, touching and threatening to my ego story, which finds comfort in being small,” Emma Hardyman says. “I got used to approaching the Tiny Desk competition as a way to simply play with my friends and practice whatever I wanted. Winning feels like being a little plant in a little pot, getting suddenly uprooted and repotted in a much, much bigger space than I am used to — unfamiliar and vast, but with plenty of nourishment and space to grow.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgQXgidJD78
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Read Yanius’ full story at http://www.NPR.org
Yanius Alvarado Matos, NPR Media Relations | YalvaradoMatos@npr.org
About NPR Music
For more than a decade, NPR Music’s robust music journalism has engaged millions of music fans from all genres with feature stories, live performances, cultural analysis and interviews. Projects include the Tiny Desk concert series; Turning the Tables; Jazz Night in America and the podcasts All Songs Considered, Alt Latino and Louder Than A Riot. NPR Music collaborates with NPR’s news magazines, public radio Member stations and the passionate listener community to celebrate exceptional music and discover emerging artists. Visit NPRMusic.org and connect with NPR Music on Facebook and Instagram.
Photo: Little Moon (from the NPR website)
NPR Music’s 2023 Tiny Desk Contest winner is Little Moon
