Screenshot via Eturn/YouTube E-Turn, one of the 14 finalists, performs “What Is It All For?”
Central Florida public radio station WMFE-FM released their list of 14 finalists this week, who are now competing to appear on the station’s local showcase based on NPR’s famed “Tiny Desk Concerts” series.
The list includes some talented heavy hitters from Orlando’s music scene and a few new faces. Check out the nominees:
Adam Fusco – “Along This Road”
Amanda Lyn – “Love Me With Wings”
Beemo – “Barricades”
Creme Lo – “Don’t Wait”
E-Turn – “What Is It All For?”
Hallz – “Just Leave Me”
Jordan Foley – “Bully”
Matt Shenk Band – “Lay Down Your Weapons”
Scorpio Szn – “Five”
Sugar City – “Charlottesville”
Hayden Woollen – “Rollin”
Oklahoma Stackhouse – “Lost the Plot”
Anisha & Von – “Lead the Way”
John Jacobs – “Granddaddy”
“Tiny Desk” concerts are billed as “intimate performances recorded live at the desk of ‘All Songs Considered’ host Bob Boilen,” but they’ve outgrown their small environment several times, such as a performance by Common at the White House. There have been too many giant talents behind the Tiny Desk to list in any complete form, but recent standouts include Lizzo, Chance the Rapper, Taylor Swift and Run the Jewels.
The national series has uploaded some magical musical moments to YouTube and beyond, including the revelation that T-Pain can really, really sing without Auto-Tune (later affirmed by his winning The Masked Singer from inside a one-eyed monster costume).
The local version also lets us see artists perform where they record and live. The finalists were chosen by WMFE staffers from 47 submissions, after a small deadline extension due to the pandemic. Last’s year’s finalist showcase was held at the Abbey, but this year’s will be online.
You can vote for your favorite performance right now on WMFE’s website, and send the top three or four picks onto a Facebook special called “Tiny Desk Contest: Orlando Favorites,” hosted by Talia Blake and Nicole Darden Creston, which will later be broadcast.
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