Sally Baby's Silver Dollars: Tiny Desk Concert @nprmusic

Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

This week, we celebrate the Tiny Desk Contest community with concerts by some of our favorite entrants over the years.

Bobby Carter | January 26, 2026
We receive thousands of submissions for the Tiny Desk Contest. And every year, there's a clear winner, but there are also a handful of artists we just fall in love with. So, to kick off our very first Tiny Desk Contest takeover, please meet Sally Baby's Silver Dollars.

"I've Got No More Tears Left to Cry," the song the band submitted for our 2024 contest, nearly won the whole thing — it was a photo finish with The Philharmonik. Yet band bassist Zach Valentine told me that taking second place was a blessing in disguise: "We weren't ready then, but we're here now at the perfect time." Since then, lead singer Salvatore Geloso and the crew have traveled beyond their New Orleans home, playing festivals across the country, with new music on the horizon.

While not born in New Orleans, Geloso embodies the city's spirit through and through, and the life highlights and lowlights he writes about have been mostly experienced in the place he's called home for over 18 years. There are many familiar Louisiana sounds in the band's music. "Down in New Orleans" feels like Fat Tuesday on Bourbon Street, but they don't just lean on tradition. Sally Baby's Silver Dollars is inherently funky and timeless, which is why the band has quickly gone from busking and playing tiny dives to doing its thing behind the Tiny Desk.

SET LIST
"I've Got No More Tears Left to Cry"
"Devil's Shoe String"
"Gargoyle"
"Down in New Orleans"

MUSICIANS
Salvatore Geloso: vocals, guitar
Zach Valentine: bass
Steve DeTroy: piano
Trenton O'Neal: drums
Aurélien Barnes: percussion
Nathan Wolman: trumpet
James Beaumont: tenor sax
Oliver Tuttle: trombone

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Bobby Carter, Elle Mannion
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer/Mix: Josephine Nyounai
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern
Audio Director: Josh Newell
Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dhanika Pineda
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #sallybabyssilverdollars

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Sally Babys Silver Dollars: Tiny Desk Concert

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$Armand Hammer: Tiny Desk Concert Lars Gotrich | July 28, 2026 ELUCID and billy woods have pounded the pavement for over two decades, which can feel like several lifetimes in underground rap years. Together as Armand Hammer, and separately on their own, the catalog runs deep. But even as more co-signs, features and bigger-name producers take note, a deep undercurrent remains: They reflect and refract the horrors and joys of the world, creating a kind of kaleidoscopic healing. As my colleague Rodney Carmichael puts it: The more complicated the times get, the easier it is to understand them. But this aint just for the heads; it takes a heart to feel what theyre putting down. Frequently backed by warped and warbled production, these New York emcees trade reference-heavy and emotionally taut verses like oral histories passed down from front stoops. How does that translate to the Tiny Desk? Thats where LA comes in, with producer Kenny Segal, jazz trio Human Error Club and guitarist Ryan Crosby. Segals arrangements channel the core Armand Hammer tension into a band that leaves smoke trails for the emcees to clear. Guitar fuzz squeals on Laraaji. Whimsical chiptune melodies soundtrack an escapist nostalgia loop on Super Nintendo. We get solo tracks from both ELUCID (Spelling) and woods (Spongebob and Discolated), whose face is strategically placed behind a pop filter — anonymity is part of his art. Closing us out, Stonefruit, which has become a calling card for the duo, embodies a tag-team whose hunger for life is both contemplative and carnal. SET LIST Laraaji Super Nintendo Spongebob Spelling Dislocated Stonefruit MUSICIANS billy woods: vocals ELUCID: vocals Kenny Segal: keys, sampler, Omnichord, music director Ryan Crosby: guitar, bass Diego Gaeta: keys Jesse Justice: keys Mekala Session: drums TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Lars Gotrich Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant Audio Engineer/Mix: Neil Tevault Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera Castro Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer Copy Editor: Sheldon Pearce Photographer: Vanessa Castillo Tiny Desk Team: Josh Newell, Felix Contreras Series Editor: Lars Gotrich Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Executive Director: Sonali Mehta Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton #armandhammer #elucid #billywoods #nprmusic #tinydesk Support for NPR Music comes from Capital One. Proud supporters of NPR Music and the Tiny Desk Contest. Whats in your wallet? Learn more at Capital One dot com.$

@billystrings is a sorcerer of his craft, wielding a guitar as if it’s a part of him.