Want to play your own Tiny Desk concert? The 2023 Contest is now open for entries

The bric-a-brac-stacked shelves of the Tiny Desk. NPR
The bric-a-brac-stacked shelves of the Tiny Desk. NPR

The Tiny Desk Contest–NPR Music’s annual nationwide search for the next great undiscovered artist to play a Tiny Desk concert–is back for its ninth year. The Tiny Desk team will begin accepting entries on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023 at 10 a.m. ET.

When you enter the 2023 Tiny Desk Contest, you join a nationwide community of music-makers and creators.

Here’s how the Contest works:

  1. To enter, you’ll need to record a video of you performing one original song (and make sure your video includes a desk!) and upload your video to YouTube.
  2. You can submit your entry on the Contest website between 10:00 a.m. on Feb. 7 and 11:59 p.m. on March 13, 2023.
  3. To be eligible to win, you must be an unsigned musician and at least 18 years old.
  4. If you win, you’ll play your very own Tiny Desk concert at NPR’s HQ and headline our Tiny Desk Contest On The Road Tour.

The winner will:

  • Play a Tiny Desk concert at NPR in Washington, D.C.
  • Be featured on NPR’s All Things Considered
  • Headline NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour

Keep these things in mind:

  • NPR Music is looking for undiscovered talent; you can’t have a current recording contract.
  • You must be at least 18 years old and live in the U.S., U.S.V.I. or Puerto Rico to enter.
  • Our panel of judges — including members of NPR Music, DJs from NPR Member stations and Tiny Desk alums — will choose our winner.
  • Check our Official Rules for all the requirements. Take this quiz to see if you’re eligible.

The team over at NPR Music can’t wait to see what you’ve got. The Contest will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, March 13.

Judges announced: Bob Boilen, Bobby Carter, Sharon Van Etten, KEXP’s Albina Cabrera, Sudan Archives, and Baby Rose will be judging this year’s entries.

Tour cities announced: The TDC winner will be visiting Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Houston this summer for the Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour.

In this article: