It has been said that you can drive across the country, from one coast to the other, and if you’re tuned into one of the NPR member stations, you’ll never miss a beat. That’s also true for the Contest, where we get entries from each of the 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Top row: riah & bog berries; bottom row: alegrías & Boxcar
Over the past few months, our member station friends have been surveying local entries, publishing interviews and hosting showcases of the best talent in the area.
For Amelia Mason (shout out Contest judge alum!) from WBUR in Boston, that list includes riah’s minimal and sultry lovesong “Other Side”; familiar Boston band Don’t Tell Iris and its folk-pop entry featuring violin, “Chamomile”; and the theatrical and energetic tongue twister “Choose For Me” by bog berries. Each year, WBUR publishes a series on the best Massachusetts entries; stay tuned to find out who will be crowned this year’s favorite!
The same day that Cure For Paranoia won the grand prize, San Diego’s KPBS named Hana Fleur’s deeply personal and romantic “Love a Woman,” past Top Shelf feature Shua’s “Burden,” and Emily Afton’s understanded-yet-full “Cactus” among its top 10 entries from the local music scene.
Similarly, STLPR in St. Louis combed through its local talent to find Contest regulars Boxcar with its 12th (!) entry “SuperMegaCrush” and Eldraco + Free Nation’s sixth entry “Lost in the Rhythm.” As well as newcomers Les Pesky Belles with “Maybe Tomorrow” and Jay-Marie is Holy’s “When You Say.”
In addition to an entry round up, South Florida’s WLRN has been interviewing a handful of favorites from the Sunshine State. Venezuelan singer Fabiii discussed how she found inspiration from an everyday piece of furniture — her sofa. The 24-year cancer researcher Katerina Lomis would write lyrics in her lab notebook and found inspiration from her high pressure environment. Winner of The Voice season 27, Adam David, talked about the importance of sobriety to his songwriting. And Jobi discussed growing up looking towards the gospel singers from her church as a guide when making her own music.
Finally, KERA in Dallas sat down with Cure For Paranoia frontman Cameron McCloud for a candid conversation about what it takes to create a winning entry, the guidance he takes from his late mother, and how to set your own metrics for success and creativity.
Cameron spoke about a similar type of persistence and authenticity on All Things Considered with host Ailsa Chang last week. In the first interview with the winner, the two discussed his one verse a day project and how that ignited a new phase in his music career.
The 2026 Tiny Desk Contest is presented by Capital One and supported by Rivian.
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Last week on the Alt.Latino podcast, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras waded through 200 Latin entries to find their favorites. “If I was a judge this year,” Felix mused thinking about "Cubahia" by Ivan Llanes & Friends, “this band would have been the hill I died on — all three of my favorites I would’ve died for.”
You can listen to the six best Latin genre entries in their entirety below:
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