For the past nine years, NPR Music has subverted the normal stage/musician dynamic by plopping artists behind a desk in their office to perform a handful of songs. The peculiar setting of these Tiny Desk Concerts creates an atmosphere both intimate and sincere, as staffers take a break from work and earnestly watch the performers. The musicians range from rappers to mariachi singers to classical musicians but almost all have some national renown.
Starting in 2015, NPR launched a competition for relatively unknowns to win a set behind the desk by submitting the best music video. Thousands of entries flowed in throughout the country and the judges eventually picked Fantastic Negrito as the winner with the song “Lost in a Crowd,” which was shot in a tiny freight elevator in Oakland.
Deeming the contest a success, the station continued the competition the following year. This time the recognition went to Gaelynn Lea, a music teacher and fiddle player from Duluth, Minn. Her winning submission was “Someday We’ll Linger in the Sun,” a somber, moving piece that uses a looping pedal to create layers of sound. The video begins with the camera focused on the fiddle case and amplifier on a desk before slowly panning out and showing the musician.
Lea released her debut solo album, All the Roads that Lead Us Home, in November 2015 and has since put out the 6-song EP The Songs We Sing Along the Way and the holiday album Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn. Lea also plays in a band with Low frontman Alan Sparhawk called The Murder of Crows. But winning the Tiny Desk Concert series in 2016 finally focused the national spotlight on the singer-songwriter.
Lea is a commanding presence on screen. She has a congenital disability called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, otherwise known as Brittle Bones Disease, but her condition does not inhibit her masterful performances. She makes stunningly beautiful and unquestionably distinctive music. Her solo performances are studies in grace and despair. And her live shows are an absolutely must-see.
Gaelynn Lea headlines Shank Hall on Friday, March 3 with opener Sarah Potenza. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.
Stream of the Week
Any discussion about the Milwaukee rap scene usually starts with WebsterX. Last week the promising rapper announced his follow-up to 2013’s Desperate Youth. Daymares is slated for a March 24 release on Closed Sessions. Along with the announcement, WebsterX also unveiled the new single, “Intuition,” a subterranean track that’s brimming with confidence and heart.
