Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf 2026: Episode 4 with Celia Gregory

0:51 Hey everybody, welcome to another edition of Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf.

0:57 The Tiny Desk Contest, of course,

0:59 is our annual search for the next great unsigned, unknown artist.

1:04 We do it every spring.

1:06 The winner of the contest gets to play their very

1:08 own Tiny Desk concert in this space right here behind me.

1:13 We got over 6,000 entries this year.

1:16 We've been going through all of them,

1:18 winnowing the list down, trying to find the winner.

1:20 We're very close to making that announcement,

1:23 announcing who the winner will be for this year's contest.

1:26 But in the meantime,

1:28 we are sharing some of our favorite discoveries that we made along the way,

1:31 some of our favorite entries in this Top Shelf series.

1:35 We've got a live chat going on right now.

1:37 If you're watching this live, join us in that chat.

1:39 Let us know what you think of the entries.

1:42 I am joined for this episode of Top

1:45 Shelf by Celia Gregory from WNXP in Nashville.

1:49 Hey Celia.

1:51 Hey, I wish I could be actually with you.

1:52 There's so much lust for the Tiny Desk full experience, but this will do.

1:56 Thanks for having me.

1:58 Oh, absolutely.

1:58 We got to get you here.

1:59 You got to come in and see your soup.

2:02 Yeah, well, maybe for the winner when the winner comes in for the Tiny Desk,

2:05 uh you can you can be here for that one.

2:07 I'll be there.

2:08 So, um we've got a bunch of amazing artists

2:12 that we discovered along the way here for this Top Shelf.

2:15 Uh you brought so many of these picks and and let's

2:18 just go ahead and get to your first one.

2:20 Let's start with Jackie Lee, a track called You've Got Time.

2:23 This whole thing quite cinematic, but we have a portion of it to show folks.

3:26 What a voice.

3:27 That's incredible.

3:29 Yeah, first of all, Robin, like the criteria by which we judge

3:32 these, I found myself amazed by so many, right?

3:35 It is It's kind of tough to pick Top Shelf because

3:39 Yeah.

3:38 these voices and the confidence in the voices that in some cases,

3:42 like Jackie, she said she's been in the business since she was 13.

3:45 Like not new at this game.

3:47 Uh first entry to Tiny Desk, though, notably.

3:50 Yeah.

3:50 And I feel like she understood the assignment.

3:53 Oh, incredible.

3:54 It's she's got kind of like um kind of an Amy

3:56 Winehouse thing kind of going on with her voice, very soulful.

4:01 And I love the way this video unfolds.

4:02 Like when it If you watch and everyone should watch these entire videos,

4:05 we're just playing little snippets here, but if you watch the whole thing,

4:08 it begins she's just sitting at a table by herself and she's singing,

4:12 you hear the other voices and I thought, "Oh,

4:14 maybe she's a looper and she's just

4:15 singing over her own voice." Camera pulls back,

4:18 you see the singers and she gets up and she

4:20 struts very effortlessly to another room where the band is revealed.

4:24 It has this incredible build.

4:25 It's so cool.

4:27 Yeah, that to me was was the catch, right?

4:29 Like it's so cool to set a scene, but this is not about how cool the video is,

4:33 it's about the song and the song is a journey along with, you know,

4:37 the video and what we see here.

4:38 It's visually compelling.

4:39 At one point she kind of gets into like a jazzy little

4:42 da da da like a scatty moment and so she's clearly classically trained,

4:45 but it's a fun song and yet it's about like the passage of time.

4:49 So it has all the things for me.

4:50 This one did.

4:52 Yeah.

4:52 And I've said this about some of the other entries that we've gotten as well,

4:56 but this all unfolds in a living room.

4:59 Like they're killing it in a living room.

5:01 It is such an amazing performance and they and to do

5:05 it in that space to me is is really amazing.

5:08 Yeah, 100% and this group's from Westchester, California and um she said,

5:13 "Just like this song which evolved in so many ways, so have I.

5:16 I know my shedding, building, and redefining of success has only been made

5:20 possible by the unforgiving hand of time." Okay, sis.

5:23 Yes, I know.

5:25 We're all just living.

5:25 We're doing our best.

5:27 So Jackie Lee was uh that's a first time entry.

5:29 You had a lot of first time entries on your list here including this next one.

5:34 Yeah, I loved this one.

5:35 This is another stunner with a pretty big ensemble cast,

5:39 but the artist the solo artist goes by Layla

5:41 Bloom and the song is Fool and the Sword.

5:44 This group's from New York.

5:48 Don't let me Wow, uh another great voice.

6:52 Yeah, Robin, this is another one where

6:54 I was like there's so many people involved.

6:56 How did they pull this off?

6:57 How did she have so many friends that could

6:58 meet at one time to hang out with her?

7:00 that all the time.

7:01 Like, how did everyone find each other?

7:02 How did How did you all come together like this?

7:04 This is too perfect.

7:05 Beautiful.

7:06 Like, clearly such a composition.

7:08 And again, please watch the entire video.

7:10 This song is like 6 minutes.

7:11 It stretches.

7:12 And there's so many movements to it.

7:14 So, I was hooked by the talent on display immediately,

7:18 but then where it went continued to surprise me.

7:21 And I mean, look, we're all inundated,

7:23 not just for Tiny Desk, but just period, with music.

7:26 The element of surprise is huge to make it memorable, at least for me.

7:30 Yeah.

7:30 Oh, I totally agree.

7:31 And this one straddles so many different universes musically.

7:34 Like, there were moments when I thought, oh,

7:36 this is kind of almost a Laurel Canyon kind of folk vibe to it.

7:40 And But then it was like show tunes.

7:42 Like, almost like a soliloquy you'd see

7:43 like on Broadway or something like that, right?

7:45 And then of course jazz, you know,

7:47 that drummer that that drummer is really killing it.

7:51 Yeah, I was a little surprised just how many I got

7:54 to review that were more of sort of a classical or jazz tradition.

7:57 I mean these folks that are like oh well I got the chops and I know it so let's

8:01 elevate it and then and of course part

8:02 of this is can I see them behind where you're sitting?

8:05 And do I want to see them do it there?

8:07 Yes, I do with this.

8:09 I want to see this video recreated there and watch everybody

8:11 do their part to pull this together but clearly she's the star.

8:14 This is her song and as composer and just yeah, what a voice.

8:19 And again that was a first time entry

8:21 from Lila Blue the song Fool and the Sword.

8:24 Let's keep going.

8:27 Okay, my next one Robin and I think I heard you say this on your episode

8:30 of the Bobby that last year's winner was

8:31 like one of the first you reviewed at all.

8:34 Is that right?

8:35 The winner for last year was the very first video I watched at all.

8:38 first one like that's like a Say Yes to the Dress

8:40 episode like it's the one I don't need to try on more.

8:44 This was the first video I saw was

8:46 this one from Olivia K and the Parkers and let's

8:49 tee it up and I hope people are as dazzled as I was in this first minutes.

9:20 No I know.

9:23 No I know.

9:24 No I know.

9:26 No I know.

9:28 No I know.

9:31 No I know.

9:33 No I know.

9:35 No I know.

9:36 No I know.

9:38 No I know.

10:10 Well, first off, I want to hang out with them.

10:12 Can I be invited to this party?

10:13 No hay frontera.

10:15 Uh absolutely, repetition is the key here.

10:18 They are emphasizing um what this is, the matter of the heart here.

10:22 And the the intro, the spoken word intro is worth seeing,

10:25 but of course the music is why I picked this and it rose to the top of my stack.

10:28 Olivia K is the lead singer, she's the brainchild behind this, but clearly

10:32 she too lots of friends to pull together.

10:35 And didn't need to have choreography for it for me to like it.

10:39 No, it's about the music, but I didn't hate it.

10:41 I really loved watching them vibe.

10:43 The joy for me was was this one.

10:46 I mean, that's the whole message of the of the song.

10:48 It has that one line that they repeat over and over again throughout

10:51 the song and it it translates to there are no borders in my heart.

10:56 And it's it's really this lovely

10:58 just quietly spoken but defiantly joyful mantra.

11:03 It's like so simple but so potent.

11:06 And uh there's a great that great percussion breakdown about halfway through

11:11 followed by all these great they take turns on all the horn solos.

11:14 Great musicianship.

11:16 And I think you mentioned dancing some

11:18 synchronized dancing that they throw in there

11:20 just sort of like a little cherry on top that yeah, really sealed it.

11:23 She is a dynamic performer.

11:25 Dynamic and yeah, the color, right?

11:28 Again, this is not about as we discussed like how how it's shot.

11:32 had plenty of like literally cross-legged

11:35 on your bed with a with your iPhone camera.

11:37 That stood out as well, but the production here overall made me think

11:41 how much fun this band must be live.

11:43 And joy as resistance is clearly the message.

11:48 Olivia K and the Parkers No Hay Frontera was

11:51 the name of the song and they're from Brooklyn.

11:53 Uh another great find Celia.

11:55 What what are you looking for as a judge?

11:57 What's your sort of way that you approach judging these?

12:01 I mean, I want to be stirred.

12:03 I want to be moved.

12:04 You you know, and in some cases it is like this this full

12:08 oh my gosh look at all the people and the voices

12:10 in unison and being wowed might take on that form of just

12:14 like the power and the the number of folks that pulled it together,

12:18 but there's some quiet power too among the entries

12:21 and I think it's just the baseline for me is does

12:24 this move me and do I feel like more people

12:26 have got to see this artist on display via Tiny Desk.

12:31 Yeah.

12:31 That's a that's a broad stroke, but as you know the real diversity in what

12:34 we get to review and that's it for me.

12:36 It needs to be stuck here, you know.

12:39 Yeah.

12:39 Yeah.

12:39 So just you want to be surprised.

12:41 Something surprising.

12:42 Yeah.

12:43 Um and I think speaking of something surprising,

12:46 let's do something totally different for this next pick.

12:49 Yeah, I lest my first entries betray me.

12:52 I am a rock and roll girly.

12:54 I love like the the sledgy and the hard and this video

12:58 stood out to me because it was shot in a bookstore,

13:01 but musically too uh memorable for me.

13:04 The band is called tummy ache.

13:05 It's the project of a single singer-songwriter,

13:08 but you'll see this three-piece band making

13:09 tons of noise in the bookstore store.

13:11 It's called porcelain dish.

13:25 In the center of the fish bowl in the teeth of the Yeah, I won't lie.

14:19 I love me some guitar rock, too.

14:21 Uh they they cracked the code.

14:23 your earplugs?

14:24 I I didn't know I needed my earplugs and when I watched them sort of, you know,

14:27 randomized basically in my pile,

14:29 like I was not ready for how hard Porcelain Dish went,

14:32 but I loved it and I looked into this artist's story.

14:36 Um Soren Bryce is is the singer and songwriter there

14:39 and the lead and I think this band's based in Texas,

14:42 but spend a good bit of time in the UK.

14:44 So, I can hear that.

14:45 I can feel those influences, you know,

14:47 both and and um they also said and they told us extra insight,

14:51 this band is heavily inspired and the song is by the American

14:54 prison industrial complex and its systemic abuse of power to entrap and oppress.

14:59 So, it's not just sludgy rock to escape.

15:02 Message as well.

15:04 Yeah.

15:04 Well, we talk about how the song and the musicianship is what's most important,

15:07 but we we do take into consideration the performance, uh the video somewhat.

15:13 In this case, I think it's really interesting because

15:15 the way they shot the video I would not,

15:18 you know, I I've said this before when I

15:20 judge these, I listen first and then I'll watch.

15:23 And I would not have predicted that they were in a bookstore.

15:27 And I would not have predicted that they'd shoot the video the way they did.

15:30 It looks like a surveillance video.

15:33 And it's Yeah, it's a little creepy and it's censored, too.

15:37 If you look in the lower left corner, there's some text that's like blurred out.

15:41 Like it's been like it's like shot at a prison or something.

15:47 And the fact that they contrast that with being in a bookstore which is

15:50 about freedom and knowledge and information

15:52 and I thought that was pretty pretty clever.

15:56 Yeah, you got it.

15:56 You got it all.

15:57 The artistic approach there and yeah,

15:59 absolutely stunned by the songwriting but also you know,

16:03 it had a little moment of like picked up and took a breath

16:05 that sort of syncopated guitar part and then back into the hard and heavy.

16:09 So I would love to see this band in like a small club, you know?

16:12 So maybe that's my next my next step.

16:14 the Tiny Desk.

16:15 I've said this also before.

16:17 A guitar rock band like this has never won the Tiny Desk.

16:20 So I would love for that to happen.

16:22 It's never never happened.

16:23 I would love for that to happen.

16:24 we are at the end but your pro tip

16:26 to listen without watching should have gotten that from you before.

16:29 As an old vet, I next time I'll be

16:31 a second-timer and I will maybe maybe do that, too.

16:35 Yeah, I I just think it's like then I come

16:36 to the song first and I'm not swayed by the visuals at all.

16:39 That ends it but A+ on the name by the way.

16:42 Tummy Ache.

16:43 It's a very funny name.

16:45 All Lowercase Tummy Ache.

16:47 For a band that makes music like that, I think is is pretty awesome.

16:51 And Robin, that's also that band's first entry

16:53 even though they've been at it for some time.

16:54 A couple albums under their belt and stuff.

16:55 So cool unsigned artist, first Tiny Desk entry.

16:59 Where do you want to go next?

17:02 You know, since you just mentioned message and what what goes into a song,

17:06 I think we need to go to this quite different

17:09 than that one but also highly messaged one from Minneapolis.

17:13 This artist's name Sadie Gustafson-Zook and this song

17:17 that she entered is called I Just Want to Be.

17:21 I just want to live in this house

17:23 in the park watching all the men play volleyball.

17:27 I just want to receive a text from Anthony telling me I left my lights on.

17:33 I just want to paint these walls off green and think maybe it was a mistake.

17:39 Want to gossip with the bronze duck on the window sill watching kids bathe.

17:45 I just want to be.

17:46 I just want to be.

17:47 I just want to be.

17:53 I just want to invite people over to sing songs in my room.

17:59 I just want to sit on the ground with everyone eating some bowls of soup.

18:05 I don't want to hear those gross leafy footsteps from strangers

18:09 who walk through when I wasn't there to defend myself.

18:13 Tell them to take off their shoes.

18:17 I just want to be.

18:18 I just want to be.

18:19 I just want to be.

18:25 What a sweet beautiful song.

18:26 That it really moves me.

18:29 Yeah, I Can I have a little story time about this one?

18:32 Yeah, please.

18:33 Um same.

18:34 I was moved and when they came in sort of in this choral way,

18:39 you know, sisters over there knitting.

18:40 You don't even know what they're doing there and then this beautiful harmonies.

18:44 But it was the line around there about sitting

18:46 cross-legged and eating soup and I started crying immediately.

18:51 Um yeah.

18:52 Because it's about these quiet moments and these simple

18:54 moments and the way it's shot too, where it's set.

18:57 They just look like they're hanging out.

18:58 They're no shoes on, you know, socked feet hanging out.

19:01 But this song is about and it preceded it was

19:05 she wrote this song about a landlord saying you only have,

19:07 you know, so many weeks to be there and she was on tour.

19:09 She's like, do I have time to get

19:10 my stuff out or you're just going to take over?

19:12 But then at the time she released it, ice had taken over in Minneapolis.

19:17 So it took on a new meaning and I thought

19:19 that and I felt all of that in that song and I I thought it was a great

19:22 example of the quiet power that we're talking about.

19:26 And and Sadie, this is not her first entry,

19:28 so had the luxury of going back and seeing some others.

19:31 She's clearly grown as a songwriter and an artist, too.

19:33 So you just love to see that and that one rose to the top

19:36 for me even as one of the quieter picks in my stack.

19:39 Yeah, such a simple, again,

19:41 simple but very beautiful and potent message about just just wanting to be,

19:47 but specifically with friends and family.

19:49 She said that she wanted to write a song that was joyful and celebrated

19:53 families and friends and being together and she really did it so so perfectly.

19:58 To to your point, I got emotional, too,

20:00 with just some of the little simple images

20:02 of sitting cross-legged on the floor with friends.

20:04 It just made me want to be in that space.

20:08 They get paired together often, Robin,

20:10 cuz we're just like, so I tried it this one.

20:12 Um, next.

20:14 Yeah.

20:13 And I and I also like guitar rock, yes.

20:16 But yeah, no, I I I love that, yeah, one of the singers is knitting,

20:21 another one's just kind of cradling a cup of tea.

20:24 It it couldn't be, you know, more simple,

20:28 but just like, again, just very powerful and very beautiful.

20:33 And in a really sweet voice, right?

20:34 Like I want to hear more from her after seeing that video.

20:38 I can imagine seeing her behind the Tiny Desk there

20:40 and or in a coffee shop somewhere and you just love to see the pursuit,

20:44 too, like I said, multiple entries over time.

20:47 Well, speaking of multiple entries over time,

20:50 this next artist has entered the contest eight times.

20:55 Eight times and I'm so glad that they entered again.

21:00 Yeah, I assume then you've seen some videos from this artist before.

21:03 I had not.

21:03 I had not.

21:04 So imagine the again quiet power and how stunned I was to hear these first words

21:11 of this song and the artist is E

21:13 Frame Bugoamba who is based in Chicago, Illinois.

21:17 The song that he entered this year short powerful it's called January 2026.

21:23 Let's listen.

21:25 My old my they come bearing fire sticks.

21:31 Bullets they used to kill.

21:35 Powerful talking.

21:39 My old my I see stories in their eyes.

21:45 But the bullets they used to kill.

21:48 Say you're backing for the shows.

21:53 Maybe I'm just naive.

21:56 But I'm still praying for peace.

22:00 She has seen how it all ends.

22:03 So I'm still praying.

22:07 My old my look to heaven for an answer.

22:13 But the darkness in their eyes say the devil's got an upper hand.

22:22 Incredible.

22:22 A singular voice.

22:24 A singular voice, an incredible story.

22:27 You know, so much so that I think it

22:28 caught the attention of of the news side of NPR.

22:32 His story on a former entry because um I

22:35 mean singing about being a refugee and you know,

22:38 losing people around him and the music being

22:42 the anchor that his family had to being together.

22:45 You know, in the connection to one another and their connection to God.

22:48 Beautiful storyteller here,

22:50 but just the music itself if you don't know the background,

22:53 it's a stunning song.

22:54 Stands alone.

22:55 So people should go and look for that it was a weekend edition feature

22:58 that we did in 2019 in of him when he entered the contest that year.

23:02 Really incredible story.

23:04 Uh I believe we featured him on Top Shelf and then in like 2021,

23:09 we featured that entry again.

23:10 So glad to have him back.

23:11 I got to be honest, I could have used maybe a couple more minutes of this song.

23:15 It's just so short.

23:15 It's like a minute and a half, minute 45 or whatever.

23:19 But yeah, again just a song about finding hope in very troubled

23:22 times and finding ways to stay hopeful and and praying for peace.

23:27 And you know something I noticed is I mean again how it was shot.

23:30 So like you know, if I close my eyes,

23:31 like I said I love the song in and of itself,

23:33 but it almost sounds and feels like a hymn or a lullaby

23:36 and then you see he he recorded it almost in the dark.

23:39 He just has one sort of light behind him like a nightlight.

23:42 It feels like he's singing you to sleep in a way.

23:45 It's going to be okay.

23:46 There's comfort in that.

23:48 And as somebody who has clearly needed to be comforted a lot of his life,

23:52 I appreciate that he's offering that in song.

23:54 It's an offering to us in song.

23:55 So had to have more people hear this voice if they haven't in previous years.

24:00 Well, for anyone who's just tuning in, this is

24:02 the Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf from Robin Hilton.

24:05 I'm here with Celia Gregory of WNXP in Nashville and we are

24:10 sharing some of our favorite entries from this year's Tiny Desk Contest.

24:15 Celia, where do you want to go next?

24:18 Um another stunner and yes, the video is stunning, but if you hear this artist,

24:22 you're like, "Please play Tiny Desk." That's what I wrote.

24:24 Was like, "I need to see a Tiny Desk from this artist."

24:27 Her name is Kennedy Ryan and she's based in Atlanta.

24:30 I think a lot of her band that you'll see in this video too based elsewhere,

24:33 but that makes this all the more impressive.

24:35 It's so colorful.

24:36 I'll just let you be the judge folks watching.

24:38 Check it out.

24:39 I didn't want to do it to you.

24:41 A whole lot to learn how to finish what you do.

24:43 So fast, so fresh.

24:46 You know he's a trap.

24:49 Even if I listen to you, you lose your control and you take off your mask.

24:54 I have to get back on track.

24:58 I just met my ex.

25:39 Star.

25:39 That is a star.

25:41 ready.

25:41 She ready.

25:42 Like I just First of all, that bass be bassing.

25:45 Love the way that track sounds.

25:47 It's so good.

25:48 Um she is looking right at the camera.

25:50 She knows exactly what she's doing.

25:51 And it's funny cuz the song's confronting her ego.

25:54 But she is, as you said, star power, like ready to rumble.

25:58 I can't wait to see what's next for this artist.

26:00 Yeah, this song goes through so many great change-ups, too.

26:03 Like right out the gate, if you watch from the top, it hits really hard.

26:06 There are all these horns and the drums, and you think, "Oh man,

26:09 this is going to rip." And then it immediately drops down,

26:12 and it's quiet, and it settles down.

26:15 Her voice comes in.

26:15 It's so smooth, so seamless.

26:17 You think this is going to be a pretty chill like R&B cut or something.

26:20 And then it slowly ramps right back up again.

26:23 And like yeah, she's such an incredible incredible performer.

26:27 She performs a lot of this looking in the mirror,

26:29 which I think is perfect, obviously, given the theme of the song.

26:32 But so much fun to watch.

26:34 Like I I could watch a whole concert Yeah.

26:37 At one point, I like thought about pulling the clip

26:39 of her, like she's kind of like arched back on the desk.

26:42 But you know, I don't want to distract

26:43 from the the lyrics and what she's singing about.

26:46 And so very it's like Erykah Badu, you know, in parts, like you said.

26:49 The groove doesn't quit.

26:51 And everybody behind her is smiling.

26:53 They're kind of geeking out playing this music so also joyful,

26:56 you know, even though she's got different content here.

26:59 Um definitely flagged this one sort of later in the game

27:02 as like I want to see this Tiny Desk.

27:04 Yeah, I mean again, song and musicianship number one,

27:08 but performance also important.

27:10 Tiny Desk obviously is a visual art form,

27:14 and this is a band that was meant to be seen live.

27:16 I Yeah, I agree.

27:18 Uh where do you want to go from there?

27:22 Um how about Appleseed?

27:23 Th- This is the group I know the least about, but I liked the song,

27:27 and as we keep talking about production value on on these videos,

27:32 this one you're you're not really seeing very clearly who this band is,

27:35 so you can focus more on the song,

27:37 and I think that's an interesting interesting take on it.

27:39 So this is the band Appleseed, also one word.

27:42 The song is Speak.

28:52 Another great guitar rock find.

28:54 Celia.

28:55 Love it.

28:55 Robin, we got to go to the show the double bill

28:57 like Tommy ate an Tommy ate an apple seed and yeah,

29:01 brand new to me and brand new to the Tiny Desk experience and I

29:05 just my bias is showing but I feel like I have I didn't

29:08 have bands like this when I was growing up and I'm so I'm

29:11 like tilting the scales more towards like I love I love the lady rockers.

29:15 I love the female fronted rock bands

29:17 and we have an embarrassment of riches right

29:18 now in indie music with these bands but I do gravitate towards them when I

29:22 can hear the songwriting and the slight harmonies and I don't know if these are

29:25 songwriting partners together but what they did

29:28 for Tiny Desk this submission really worked for me.

29:31 Yeah, I agree and I think that you know,

29:34 I I love it when a song does something that you're or video

29:37 and you don't even realize that they're doing it until it's almost over.

29:41 You know, I like there there were some

29:43 videos that are single shot videos, you know,

29:44 it's all one shot through the whole thing where this song is two chords and I

29:48 went back and listened to it again just to make sure am I hearing this right?

29:51 This song is only two chords but it doesn't

29:53 get tired and never feels like it's only two chords.

29:55 It feels like there's you know, a lot of evolution and you know,

29:59 it rises and falls and there's change ups and things like

30:01 that but it never strays from those two chords and very 90s very grungy.

30:07 It's my favorite decade for music which I

30:10 think is interesting that they chose to sort

30:12 of like the other video shoot it like it's on old VHS very much from that era.

30:18 And they do another little thing that I I

30:20 thought was interesting which is they use a fish eye

30:22 lens at one point which was the most used

30:25 video trope in rock music in the 90s Jane's Addiction,

30:30 Alanis Morissette, Soundgarden.

30:32 I could just go on and on all the bands

30:34 that used the fish eye lens in their music videos.

30:37 It was a great little subtle touch that I thought they included.

30:41 That's so astute the two chords analysis

30:44 and the this feels and smells and tastes like the '90s.

30:46 That's why we're into it.

30:48 Uh no, I just like I was my interest

30:50 was piqued by this song and then I was like,

30:52 I want to know more about this band and and you know,

30:55 how they do what they do and I

30:56 think to your point earlier about being surprised.

30:59 There's also like if you satisfy my curiosity and I want to know more about you,

31:04 that's to me a stunning Tiny Desk entry instead of a one-off, right?

31:08 Is like now I want to follow Apple seed and I will.

31:11 Completely agree and again, first entry for them.

31:13 So hopefully we'll be hearing more uh a band from Henderson, Nevada.

31:18 We still got a couple more that we want to share.

31:20 Where do you want to go next?

31:23 Yeah, talk about the element of surprise.

31:24 Let's go in a totally different direction uh to my old Kentucky home.

31:28 I do not know this artist, of course,

31:30 um but this was a stunner for me in the solo acoustic category.

31:36 Only a few sort of rose to the occasion for me

31:38 and this one I could not stop thinking about his voice.

31:42 The artist's name is Andrew Montana and the song is called Horse.

31:47 And so you bet on a lame horse and cried out on all fours.

32:02 You're in so much pain just praying the end's when.

32:15 But you out of luck on your last buckle.

32:21 You crying, you moan, baby.

32:24 I should have known.

32:28 I should have known.

32:50 Yeah, what a powerful song.

32:51 His voice, it's he's kind of an unassuming guy.

32:54 So, when he first started, I I I thought, "Oh, nice voice.

32:57 This this will This will be a nice little singer-songwriter." But, then when

33:01 he starts belting it out and the vibrato in his voice, really powerful.

33:06 The the tremble, you know,

33:07 like he's got such a richness in the regular verse-chorus structure,

33:12 but then when he is trembling and talking about betting on a lame horse,

33:16 you're like, "I believe you." And it it struck me,

33:19 it was like Tyler Childers and the like,

33:21 these like good old uh he's from Louisville, so not necessarily the countryside,

33:25 you know, the country parts of Kentucky, but you know,

33:27 you got this country tenderness and authenticity,

33:30 but also this like Hozier-style power.

33:34 Mhm.

33:34 Mhm.

33:35 you know, and I just I'm like like if you're

33:37 in a bar where invariably an artist like this would get booked,

33:39 you know, for a gig, like a you know,

33:41 people are chatting and talking over, you hear a voice like this, you stop.

33:44 You pivot from your dumb conversation at the bar to watch the watch the artist,

33:49 and I think that arresting power of his voice,

33:52 before I even knew what the song was about, I loved it.

33:55 And then we learned what the song was about, right?

33:57 Well, once you read he he included a statement,

33:59 once you read a little bit of from that statement.

34:02 Yeah, Andrew said, "Horse is an acknowledgement of my many shortcomings

34:06 and astonishment that people invest themselves

34:08 in people who have so many problems.

34:11 My girlfriend is awesome and could be with anyone,

34:13 and yet she chooses to be with me.

34:15 Deeply anxious, poor, disorganized,

34:18 kind of looks like the guy from Ratatouille, etc.

34:21 He admits he was freshly out of a mental

34:23 hospital when he started dating her, and frankly,

34:25 I was not a good horse to bet on.

34:27 So far, it's worked out,

34:29 but I would still advise others to bet on horses with better odds.

34:34 Um I mean I this song's a great song

34:35 to begin with, but when you know that story behind it, yeah, it's incredible.

34:39 Do you ever see the movie Train Dreams that came out last year?

34:42 Train Dreams?

34:43 Oh, it's so good.

34:44 It It spans It's It spans many decades.

34:47 Starts in the 1800s.

34:49 Um Nick Cave did the sort of credit sequence song

34:52 at the end and was nominated for an Oscar for it.

34:55 This This song would have been a great needle drop

34:58 in that movie because it feels like it's from that time.

35:01 It's kind of from that era.

35:03 But also uh it has a similar story about just sort of coming up,

35:07 growing older, weathering the storm,

35:10 and all the lessons that you hopefully learn along the way.

35:14 This I thought this was another great find.

35:16 See you.

35:17 Yeah, stunning and simple in its production, too,

35:19 but you don't need the video to be like this is a top-shelf pick.

35:23 And it wasn't lost on me that he's,

35:25 you know, there in Derby country singing about a horse.

35:28 It could have been frankly kind of hokey, and instead it was so powerful to me

35:33 that this is again an artist I can't wait to follow, and he might be close by.

35:36 He's not that far from Nashville.

35:39 So, Andrew Montana, and again the song was called Horse.

35:44 All right, SeeYou.

35:44 We've got one more we want to play before we wrap up this edition of Top Shelf.

35:51 Um did you pick this for last, too, cuz you were obsessed with it?

35:54 It's It's pretty awesome.

35:56 It's pretty awesome.

35:58 Um you asked about like again why I pick some.

36:01 I am such a live music fan.

36:02 For me, like seeing is believing

36:04 and and and being able to witness somebody live.

36:06 And oftentimes when I hear a band on record,

36:08 my first thought is would I want to see them live?

36:11 That's the whole point of Tiny Desk.

36:12 This band I would see anywhere and just mouth agape.

36:15 So, that's a big hype set up.

36:17 Let's end with Velcro Wallets.

36:20 This song is called Space Tide.

36:22 This is also their first time entering the Tiny Desk contest,

36:25 even though they've been playing since they were in high school.

36:28 Yeah, it's amazing.

36:29 Uh you told me just before we started taping that you were a big Phish fan.

36:33 And I'm not surprised because this is a instrumental

36:39 prog rock cosmic supernova jam from this band.

36:44 Uh it's playful, it's jazzy, it rocks.

36:49 It's awesome.

36:49 It's awesome.

36:50 It's awesome.

36:52 Yeah, this is just one segment we picked,

36:54 but please watch the whole thing cuz it was really hard to pick.

36:56 You know, a 60 seconds it's it's many movements

36:59 and the movement of their bodies in this small living room

37:02 space makes me think they could flail around a good

37:04 bit a Tiny Desk too and make a righteous noise.

37:07 So, yeah, the band um is Velcro Wallet.

37:10 Also a great name.

37:12 The song is Spacetime.

37:13 Uh they're from California as well.

37:16 All right, thanks for tuning in everybody.

37:18 Uh let us know what your favorite entry was

37:20 in the chat if you've been joining us for this live.

37:22 Next week will be the final episode of this year's

37:26 Top Shelf series with Bobby Carter and Tierra Whack.

37:31 Subscribe to NPR Music's YouTube channel to be

37:34 reminded of the next one before we go live.

37:37 And until then, be well.

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