Before independent artist Madison McFerrin was a Contest judge, she was a Contest entrant. And even though she didn’t win, Bobby Carter kept an eye on her new music, which led to him producing her Tiny Desk concert 10 years later.
Last week, Bobby and Madison reunited on the third episode of Top Shelf. In their conversation, Madison reflected on how she approaches watching entries now, having experienced the Contest and the Desk from just about every side.
“The blend of the three people here is really magical,” she said after watching Somebody Someone’s performance of “Who’s Left,” the artist’s 10th Contest entry. “You don’t need huge productions to make music sound great — that wide angle is doing work, that desk is tiny.”
Madison’s picks spanned arena-sized rock and roll, meditative jazz, heartbroken R&B, Latin folk and even some a capella legends (shout out Sweet Honey in the Rock). Bobby squeezed a couple more of his standouts into the mix, including his absolute favorite so far, BendreTheGiant.
Rewatch the entire episode to see the breadth of talent, and afterwards, make sure to watch all 10 entries in full:
The 2026 Tiny Desk Contest is presented by Capital One and supported by Rivian.
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In a few hours, Robin will be back at the Desk with Celia Gregory, a morning host at WNXP in Nashville. You may also recognize her voice from NPR Music’s New Music Fridaypodcast, where she is a recurring guest discussing the very best new music.
Just like Robin, producer of some of the most notorious Tiny Desk shredders (think Annie DiRusso and Ty Segall), Celia is also a fan of loud guitar rock. We’re looking forward to hearing what entries the two judges pull together for this fourth episode of Top Shelf.
You can set a reminder to join Robin and Celia at 3 p.m. ET today by clicking the big button below.
Before we go: Tickets to the Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour are on sale now and selling out quickly (San Francisco and Austin were the first to go!). Grab yours and join the soon-to-be-announced winner and some local Contest entrant friends on the road this summer.
From the Desk,
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