A Tucson band is in the running forย NPR Music's second annual Tiny Desk Contest and a chance to play on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts series in Washington, D.C.
The winner also snagsย a four-part event tour with stops at NPR's Ask Me Another program and at contest supporterย Lagunitas Brewing Company's breweriesย in Petaluma, California, and Chicago, and a final stop in Portland, Oregon.
Carlos Arzate & The Kind Souls were among a handful of bands nationwide selected for the contest. Bands were selected after submitting videos last month of live performances and the final bands were announced this week.
ย Arzate and his band submitted a video for their single "No More," which was filmed at the Bowen Stone House in Tucson Mountain Park.ย
"So surreal and exciting to have our Tiny Desk entry chosen from the many to be featured by NPR," Arzate posted on the band's Facebook page Friday afternoon. "So proud of our team who worked together to make this happen. People all across the United States are now hearing a taste of what we do in the Sonoran Desert. It's unreal really."
The video on Friday was selected as one of six for the first week of online voting. All the videos in the weekly polling share a common theme, in this case the great outdoors. (Vote here.)
"In one day our video was watched 1k times and has now been viewed over 3k!!! Thank you NPR Tiny Desk Contest & everyone who has liked, shared and spoken on our behalf all across the US. When Kind Souls unite it is a beautiful thing," Arzate said.
This is the first time Arzate and his Sonoran folk and soul band has gotten any national exposure, the frontman said.ย
NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts are intimate performances recorded liveย at the desk of "All Songs Considered" host Bob Boilen.
Boilen and "All Songs Considered" co-host Robin Hilton will team up with a panel of musicians fromย the Tiny Desk roster โ Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and The Arcs; Lucius ladies Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig; and soul artist Son Little โ to select the contest winner, who will be announced in March.
