Credit: Photo: Zayrha Rodriguez

When Selina Moon said she's dreamed of playing the Tiny Desk, there's plenty of proof behind the statement. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and jewelry maker had entered the Tiny Desk Contest five years in a row, and even intended to submit a sixth submission this year. She told us that the Contest had been a significant conduit for growth that inspired her to form a band and add the harp to her musical repertoire. When Bob Boilen and I discussed her entry video on the first episode of the Tiny Desk Top Shelf series in 2020, we agreed that her presentation felt familiar and would work easily in our space. Year after year, her submissions got consistently better, and even though she didn't win, her name was in the top rankings by nearly all judges involved. So this year, we invited her to the real Tiny Desk. Following the show, I asked Selina how it felt to play behind the Desk, and she said, "I've imagined and rehearsed being here for so long; it just felt natural."

Her confidence and sense of belonging struck me the most throughout her set; then, her subtle yet soulful vocal acrobatics. Selina opened the set with "Hummingbird," the song she submitted for 2021's Contest, featuring brothers Ryan Studer and Andy Motoi on strings and Josh Linsky on djembe, all of whom played in the original entry video. The band then bounced around more of Selina's brilliant catalog of former submissions. She shared that she has hundreds of unreleased songs she's eager to put out. There's probably no better time than now to share.

SET LIST

  • "Hummingbird"
  • "Let It Go"
  • "River"
  • "I Am Not Alone"

MUSICIANS

  • Selina Moon: vocals, harp, guitar
  • Andy Motoi: viola
  • Ryan Studer: cello
  • Josh Linsky: djembe

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
  • Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
  • Creative Director: Bob Boilen 
  • Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Michael Zamora
  • Audio Assistant: Neil Tevault
  • Production Assistant: Jill Britton
  • Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Sofia Seidel, Pilar Galvan
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
  • Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

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Tags: Genre: Pop  Selina Moon  Series: Tiny Desk