Last Wednesday, May 15, NPR finally revealed the results of its Tiny Desk Contest for 2024, naming Sacramento, California-based producer, singer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist The Philharmonik as the winner.
The artist and his band secured the "chicken dinner" with their intricately staged performance video of "What's It All Mean," a funky and soulful song about the mundanity and ultimate reason for life, plucked off his recent album: "Kironic."
Philharmonik will also be performing at the world-famous Tiny Desk in the NPR Headquarters in Washington, DC, before taking off for the "Tiny Desk Contest On The Road Tour" that will kick off next week on Tuesday, May 21.
Tickets and the full routing list are now available by clicking here.
About The Philharmonik, Tiny Desk Contest 2024 Winner
The Philharmonik, otherwise known as vocalist and keyboard player Christian Gates, is joined by Moriah Wenzel and Alicia Huff on background vocals.
The group's instrumentalists, on the other hand, comprise Courtney Miller (drums); Samuel Phelps (bass); Darius Upshaw (guitar); Connor Chavez (guitar); Jimmy Toor (flute), and Jeffery Archie (keys).
Picked out of just about 7,000 submissions coming from all corners of the US, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, and even Puerto Rico, The Philharmonik's electrifying performance clinched the victory through sheer charm and soulful passion.
Tiny Desk host and series producer Bobby Carter believes so, too, describing the video as "perfect" from its concept to the actual dedication needed to execute the idea, which was actually something of a herculean task.
In a statement from the artist, he recalled details about the making of the video and said: "The planning for this was insane. The Sacramento community literally lifted me up to help me see this vision through when I had not a single penny to my name."
"We took 3 days to set up the space," he shared. "The first day was loading in setting up sound and placement of the desks in the space. The second day was getting the lighting, photos, and dress rehearsal. The third day was the official shoot."
"There was a magic energy filling the space that I can't explain, but I had a plan, and this turned out way better than the plan I had," expressed Gates. "This is a result of amazing teamwork and minds coming together.
You can watch the fruits of Gates' and his band's labor in the official performance video of "What's It All Mean?" right below.
