Five Local Bands Bucking for NPR Recognition

For 15 years now, NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series has given fans the chance to watch their favorite artists perform stripped-down sets inside the NPR office. It’s also a great opportunity to discover new artists – the intimate format puts new eyes on bands that might otherwise be overlooked. That exposure can be career changing: the NPR Music Youtube channel – the page where the concerts are uploaded – currently has over seven-million subscribers.

It should come as no surprise then that local artists jump at the chance to be featured on the NPR Music page. Every year, Tiny Desk holds a contest calling for video submissions of bands playing their own Tiny Desk concerts. At the end of the contest, the judges will pick one lucky group to play a Tiny Desk concert at NPR in Washington D.C., be interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered and go on tour with NPR Music.

That’s a huge opportunity for an unsigned artist, so cities should be showing their support for their hometown heroes that have submitted videos. Milwaukee had its share of submissions, so check out some of the performances below.

ANDII “I Tried”

ANDII has been writing songs for over a decade – drawing on traditional folk and jazz influences and combining them with a soulful, rock n’ roll delivery ala singers like Amy Whinehouse. All of that is on display in ANDII’s performance of “I Tried” – where the singer is in full clown makeup and backed by a subtle cast of string instruments and light percussion. ANDII expertly utilizes dynamics to drive the performance, pushing her vocals at times, but never too far – leaving the listener wanting more.

Khal!l “Kawasaki”

Khal!l’s artistry takes many forms – from Milwaukee hip-hop to fronting the jazz group Cosmic Endeavors. Khal!l brings an eclectic mix of sounds to the city’s stages, but here, we get to see Khal!l in an environment where every artist thrives – in the studio, operating a MIDI controller and rapping over his track “Kawasaki” with soundscapes and a flow that will feel just right to fans of Chance the Rapper.

Klassik “Spirit”

Milwaukee hip-hop-soul artist Klassik teams up with SistaStrings for a beautiful performance of “Spirit,” the final track on his 2019 album Quiet. Here, Klassik flexes his impressive vocal range, shifting from soulful wailing to rapid-fire rapping – all while maintaining control of the beat and various samples used throughout. This is all accompanied by the soothing strings and powerful backing vocals of SistaStrings – making this already fine performance all the sweeter.

Francesca and Tom “Aftermath”

And the most adorable Milwaukee Tiny Desk submission award goes to Francesca and Tom, a folk duo that manages to sound very full despite only being made up of just an acoustic-electric and electric guitar. Francesca and Tom are set up in a living room, with someone’s desk moved into the background (the description of the video reads “Note the desk behind us.”) After performing the very catchy folky original, Francesca thanks the viewer, and Tom follows up with, “Not too bad.” There’s an aura of wholesomeness and honesty present, and you get the idea that Francesa and Tom are just having fun. If they win, great. If they don’t, that’s okay too – they’re just playing music and making the most of it.

Rat Bath “Sweet Puppet”

Rat Bath hit the Milwaukee music scene in 2022 with its debut album Rat From Hell – a collection of songs that took elements of country, folk-punk and emo, mixed them all together, and crafted a genre of its own: Spooky-country core. Rat Bath performs “Sweet Puppet,” a slow-building, barn-burner of a track that originally featured Milwaukee folk artist Johanna Rose on backup vocals. The performance has a very authentic feel to it, as if you’re right there in the room with Rat Bath, and the raspiness and snarl in Fred Kenyon’s vocals are a reminder that the band can typically be heard playing at much higher decibel levels.

If you want to check out more NPR Tiny Desk submissions, visit the Tiny Desk website, where you can filter by Song Name, Artist Name, State and Genre.