"Any kind of performance is valuable, because every person is valuable."

March 4, 2016 11:06 AM

Gaelynn Lea is the winner of NPR Music's 2016 Tiny Desk Contest for her haunting composition, "Someday We'll Linger in the Sun"

Gaelynn is a fiddler and public speaker from Duluth, Minnesota, where she teaches and performs. She was interviewed by NPR after her win, where she explains her thought process behind the song, her unique playing technique (due to osteogenesis imperfecta), and the joys of performing.

Her YouTube channel features more of her great work:

"Your Battle" (as part of her duo Murder of Crows, with Alan Sparhawk of Low)
"Red Rocking Chair"
"Soldier's Joy" and "Liberty"

posted by castlebravo (16 comments total)

That was really great. I especially love her voice. So clear.
posted by chococat at 11:20 AM on March 4, 2016

Wow, that is amazing!

I have to admit that in this contest I've been pulling for a fabulous local band here in Albuquerque called Cactus Tractor – their submission video, "Jelly Donut," was a good deal of fun, and I've seen them a few times in the tiny venues they play around here; they're a blast, just great musicians who enjoy what they do.

But I have to admit that they're a bit more of an expansive spectacle, and much more whimsical than Gaelynn Lea is. Lea is just so raw in these video, her voice and playing so intimate and immediate. So I am happy with this result.
posted by koeselitz at 11:27 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

This is cool. I caught part of the interview on NPR yesterday, and from the bits of music, I sort of expected more electronica to be involved. Plus, Ms. Lea's Minnesota accent. Lots to smile about!
posted by spacewrench at 11:27 AM on March 4, 2016

Hey, I know her. Go Gaelynn! I didn't even know it was possible to win Tiny Desk Concerts though, I thought it was just a concert series.
posted by miyabo at 11:38 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

It is just a concert series, but this in particular is a contest they've been running for the past month. The contest is a chance for some unknown or obscure artist to win a chance to play a concert on Tiny Desk Concerts. I don't think they've ever done this before, and it's a great idea.
posted by koeselitz at 11:43 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

They've done it at least once before. Fantastic Negrito won. He's great!
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:55 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

Reminds me a lot of early Joanna Newsome.
posted by msalt at 12:07 PM on March 4, 2016

Last year was the first year with Fantastic Negrito winning.
posted by saul wright at 12:12 PM on March 4, 2016

Oh, this is why I love MeFi, it helps me catch things like this that I would have missed. This is wonderful, thank you so much for posting.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:37 PM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

Aside from the wonderful artist, it always warm my heart to see Tiny Desk Concert on the blue.
posted by numaner at 2:01 PM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

Good lord if you're not prepared, shields up, teflon coated, super-powered armor-plated - that's a song that can wreck you.
posted by drewbage1847 at 2:23 PM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

I am so pleased she is from northern Minnesota, because that song is really the perfect soundtrack for the moody expanse that is Lake Superior. It's pure and piercing and deep. I like to think only someone who knows the North Shore could have written it.
posted by castlebravo at 2:38 PM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

That video is moving in every kind of way. lovely, haunting, wonderful.
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:40 PM on March 4, 2016

She also collaborates with Alan Sparhawk from Low-- they perform and record as The Murder of Crows.
posted by jokeefe at 10:21 PM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

Another nice Murder of Crows performance.
posted by klausness at 3:38 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Wow. It's not often that music brings me to tears ... the ending felt like ocean songs.
posted by Surfurrus at 11:42 PM on March 5, 2016