Elle Mannion

4 weeks ago | npr.org | Elle Mannion

We received nearly 7,500 entries from independent artists across the country for the Tiny Desk Contest. That's a record for the project, now in its 11th year, which has catapulted the careers of artists like Grammy winners Fantastic Negrito and Tank and the Bangas. Now we have a new star: Ruby Ibarra, a Filipina American rapper from the Bay Area. Ibarra's Contest entry, "," stunned this year's panel of judges with its multilingual, intergenerational band and passionate emcee.

1 month ago | ksut.org | Elle Mannion

MJ Lenderman's music is a little sad, sometimes funny and almost always comforting. He's already played the Tiny Desk with the indie rock band Wednesday, but after a stellar 2024 — a memorable feature on Waxahatchee's "Right Back To It" and his own solo album, Manning Fireworks — it was time to bring him in for his own set. His band, normally called MJ Lenderman and The Wind, told us that when they play their songs stripped back like this, they refer to themselves as MJ Lenderman and The Breeze.

1 month ago | ctpublic.org | Juana Summers |Patrick Jarenwattananon |Elle Mannion

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

1 month ago | boisestatepublicradio.org | Juana Summers |Patrick Jarenwattananon |Elle Mannion

Host Juana Summers talks with Ruby Ibarra, the Bay Area rapper who won this year's Tiny Desk Contest. Her winning entry, "Bakunawa," is inspired by Filipino mythology and the birth of her first child. Copyright 2025 NPR

1 month ago | cfpublic.org | Juana Summers |Patrick Jarenwattananon |Elle Mannion

Host Juana Summers talks with Ruby Ibarra, the Bay Area rapper who won this year's Tiny Desk Contest. Her winning entry, "Bakunawa," is inspired by Filipino mythology and the birth of her first child. Copyright 2025 NPR