The 2025 Tiny Desk Contest is now open! The folks at NPR Music are thrilled to be back for another year, searching for the next great undiscovered artist to play a Tiny Desk concert.

First, meet this year's judges — the folks who will be watching thousands of entries from independent artists across the country and eventually selecting a winner. Bobby Carter and Robin Hilton are returning as Tiny Desk experts. They're welcoming Felix Contreras, a Tiny Desk producer and host of NPR's Alt. Latino, on board as well.

They have three Tiny Desk alums on the panel: singer-songwriter Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff; Bay Area rapper LaRussell; and singer, rapper and songwriter Audrey Nuna. Each of these artists put on exceptional shows behind the Desk, and they're eager to find a new artist who will do the same.

There are also a few folks from beloved NPR member stations: Raina Douris, host of World Cafe at member station WXPN in Philadelphia, and Ayana Contreras, host of Soulful Strut on KUVO Jazz in Denver. Plus publicist Judy Miller Silverman, who, as the founder of Motormouthmedia, has an ear for great new talent.

Here's how to enter:

  1. Record a video of you (or you and your band) playing one original song behind a (big or small) desk.
  2. Upload your video to YouTube.
  3. Complete the entry form at npr.org/tinydeskcontest by 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 10. 

Those who submit to the Contest join a growing community of passionate independent musicians from across the country. Many entrants will be featured by NPR Music in some way — whether it be on our YouTube channel as part of our Top Shelf series, our Instagram where we feature notably creative entries, on air when Weekend Edition shares entrants' stories, at live shows this summer or right here on All Things Considered where we'll share the best entries of different genres.

The winner will get to play a real Tiny Desk concert — as well as be interviewed on All Things Considered, play a 10-city tour and be paired with a music industry mentor.

Questions? Artists can start by taking the Contest's eligibility quiz. They can also skim our FAQ and read our official rules.

Finally, we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the thousands of artists from the Los Angeles area who have joined the Contest community over the years, and who may have been affected by this month's fires. We understand the profound impact this disaster may be having on your capacity to create music at this time, and will keep you informed about the possibility of extending the Feb. 10 Contest deadline. For those who have the resources to help people in Los Angeles, here's a spreadsheet listing mutual aid efforts.

Tags: Series: Tiny Desk Contest