NPR Tiny Desk national winner Alisa Amador to open Georgia concert with three local winners

National Public Radio has created a music phenomenon in the past several years with their "Tiny Desk" series: a showcase that features musical artists performing intimate sessions around the office desks of the NPR headquarters. 

This year's winner of the Tiny Desk contest, in which artists submit entries to perform in the series, was Alisa Amador. Amador's win was unique for many reasons this year — her tiny desk performance was the first to be shot in front of an audience since the pandemic, and her entry song, "Milonga Accidental," was not in English.

"I often fall for a song because of the lyrics, and this is the first Tiny Desk Contest winner whose winning song is in Spanish," contest judge Bob Boilen said. "Despite the fact that I don't speak Spanish, I felt the conflict, the yearning and the song's questioning."

Now the Tiny Desk is coming to Georgia in a concert series featuring Amador as well as three local winners — O'She Tyght, Yah Yah, and Alto Moon — at Atlanta venue Aisle 5.

For O'She Tyght, their music is a means of reflecting on their own individual voice.

"God created each and every one of us, all of us are individual, but all of us, these are his children," they said. "You know, I can't be like everybody else. I can only be me and do the best that I can do."

It's also a chance for them to reflect on overcoming their previous struggles with mental illness and self-dobut.

"For me it is a more of a form of encouragement to keep being able to hear something to tell me, like, 'You don't have to let people judge you,'" they said. "You were born here. You were put here. You came here by yourself. You make friends. You're good. You're a great person."

For artist Alto Moon, Tiny Desk has been a presence in their lives for years.

"I've actually been a fan of the Tiny Desk contests dating back to like 2015," they said. "I was in a pretty like hip college band before pursuing my solo stuff, so I was really familiar with the series itself for national acts."

Alto Moon hopes this show will be a unifying experience for the music community in Atlanta.

"I want my shows feel like a family and like a party, a celebration of whether they're good or bad and letting it all out," they said. "My shows are typically a safe space. I hope to bring that same energy to this, and hopefully that's something that was they saw in me when selecting me to perform on this tour."

Artist Yah Yah said the show comes as a result of the work they've put in as a musician.

"I've just been doing a lot more manifesting in my life and saying exactly what I want, being specific about it and putting in the work," they said. "And I feel like if you put in the work, you stay consistent."

The Tiny Desk: On The Road concert series is Tuesday at Aisle 5 at 8 p.m.