A Duluth musician has been chosen from more than 6,000 entrants as the winner of National Public Radio's Tiny Desk Contest.
Entrants were asked to send a video of an original song performed behind a desk and Duluth's Gaelynn Lea, 32, emerged "as an artist so compelling we're thrilled about this announcement," said NPR's Bob Boilen on the radio station's website Thursday morning.
Lea is a classically trained fiddle player with what judges called an arresting voice. Her haunting song, "Someday We'll Linger in the Sun," moved a six-judge panel, which called her performance "captivating and powerful."
Lea will now record a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR office of the program, "All Songs Considered" in Washington, D.C. Tiny Desk Concerts are a regular feature of NPR and have recorded short video concerts of artists like Wilco, Natalie Merchant and scores of others.
Lea is a musician, fiddle teacher and public speaker, advocating locally for people with disabilities. She was born with brittle bone disease that curbed her growth and uses a motorized wheelchair. She plays the fiddle in an upright position.
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Lea released a solo album last year, "All the Roads That Lead Us Home." In addition to her solo work, she has joined with Low's Alan Sparhawk in a side project called, The Murder of Crows.
