It seems like just yesterday, we were interviewing last year’s NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner, Neffy — aka Arlington-native Mecca Russell — on our Instagram Live. And this morning, after reviewing thousands of entries from across the country, NPR has announced its latest winner: Alisa Amador.

Per NPR Music, “Amador is a singer-songwriter from Boston, Mass., with a powerful voice whose tender performance commands attention and fosters connection.”

Previous winners have gone on to receive Grammy nominations, release popular studio albums, and go on tour. Amador’s tour kicks off at D.C.’s Songbyrd Music House on May 24, with Neffy and Outerloop (see below) as opening acts. WAMU is host partner of the event.

DCist/WAMU is always interested in discovering talented Washingtonians, and the Tiny Desk contest provides no small amount of impressive musicians from this region. We interviewed three incredible local acts who sent in a video for the contest — and in case that’s not enough to satisfy your local-music palate, we included links to a handful of other entrants we loved.

Outerloop (Fairfax, VA), “El Control”

The four musicians behind this Northern Virginia-based powergroup first joined forces where all perfectly normal strangers meet up … Craigslist. Lead singer Taisha Estrada cam across what she describes as the most tame and grammatically correct post she could find on the website — a group of local instrumentalists were looking for a female singer. Estrada replied immediately.

“Craig still comes through sometimes,” says guitarist Don Potter.

Now, they’re putting out their first full-length album — you can listen to their debut EP here — and they’ve submitted their Spanish-language song “El Control” for the Tiny Desk Contest. It references La Princesa, a former prison in Puerto Rico known for its brutal treatment of Puerto Rican nationalists. Estrada learned about the prison while reading War Against All Puerto Ricans, a book about the island’s hidden history.

For the EP, Estrada describes her writing process as fluid: “Some of the ideas I had just came to me in English, some of them in Spanish,” she says. “What I like about the Spanish [songwriting] is that it comes out more lyrical, and those songs totally have a different vibe.”

The band’s Tiny Desk video setup was similarly spontaneous — they set up some cameras in Potter’s practice-room-turned-studio and rocked out to “El Control.” The result is an uptempo track that would easily entertain a music festival crowd. Close your eyes, and you just might forget Outerloop recorded this song in a Fairfax basement.

Liam Hale (D.C.), “War on Rewind”

Hale, a Wisconsin native, moved to D.C. full-time about six months ago after journeying around the U.S. — he had stops in the Midwest, California, and other places throughout the pandemic. Now, he calls the Shaw neighborhood “home.” Perhaps that’s why his music takes the listener on such a fascinating journey.

The song is called “War on Rewind,” and it’s literally that, Hale says. “It’s describing seeing war in reverse.”

The entrepreneur and Stanford grad first started writing pieces of the song years ago, but the war in Ukraine helped Hale see his lyrics from a new perspective. With haunting visuals of WWII footage in reverse, the song tells a bizarre story in which bullets bring people back to life and there are scenes of healing, repair, and renewal, instead of separation and destruction.

“It’s a strange fantasy, but it ironically highlights how horrible war is and how we should do everything possible to avoid it,” Hale says.

Hale drew inspiration from a passage in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five in which the main character Billy Pilgrim watches these types of scenes. “It’s really quite heart wrenching to see that,” Hale says.

“See war on rewind / Soldiers waving hello not goodbye,” he sings.

“Husbands reuniting with their wives / Battle cries become lullabies.”

Hale has been playing music for as long as he can remember. He recently rediscovered a song he wrote on a sheet of paper at age 6 — the topic: making fun of his brother.

He loves the eclectic mix of artists any music lover can enjoy in the D.C. area. On any given night, Hale might check out an undiscovered guitarist from Niger or a chart-topping pop star. Most likely, though, he can be found jamming with his upstairs neighbor — who, of course, is a musician as well.

Maya Elizabeth (Parkton, MD), “Seed Song”

In 2018, Maya Elizabeth, who grew up in the Baltimore area, found herself alone in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Before she left, Elizabeth’s brother began teaching her to play acoustic guitar — she wrote “Seed Song” while practicing some chords she just learned.

Elizabeth put her dream of being a full-time musician on hold to pursue a job. The song’s lyrics were born from that sacrifice. Backed by soft guitar riffs and a simple kick-and-snare drum, she sings over the chorus:

“You were placed in the dirt / In the ground where no one could see or interrupt /

And though you’re kind of lonely / No, you’re never alone.”

The spiritual lyrics soothed her during the three-year-period she spent on the West Coast, somewhat secluded, before returning home to Maryland.

“I’m really big on introspection and meditation and prayer,” Elizabeth says. “I think we need those moments, unhindered and undisturbed, to really develop into who we need to be and to eventually pick back up and then pursue the dreams that we need to.”

Hit play on “Seed Song” and it’s clear why this dream was so difficult to “place in the dirt” — her voice rivals popular R&B singers like H.E.R. and the uplifting message in her lyrics harkens back to early Lauryn Hill records.

Back in Maryland, the Howard University alum reconnected with her producer Rob Levine, and got to work, recording her debut EP, Space to Fill. The four-song record comes with an accompanying candle and journal that helps the listener get into Elizabeth’s mindset from when she recorded it. (All of it is available on her website).

Burying a dream for a limited period of time, it turns out, doesn’t need to be a guilt-laden experience. As Elizabeth explains, “When you have the opportunity, pick [your dream] up again … I liken that idea to a seed being placed in the ground. See how that can sprout up again and where that could take you.”

Check out these other local contest entrants we loved!

Aakhu (D.C.), “Racing the Sun”

Ainae (Greenbelt, MD), “Numb”

Aztec Sun (D.C), “What Will We Become?”

Jade Jacobs (D.C.), “Like This (That)”

Kanysha (D.C.), “B.H.W.O. (Buss Hell Wide Open)”

The Love Station (D.C.), “Nobody to Love”

Martin Graff (Arlington, VA), “Prism”

Nelson and Third Cadence (Silver Spring, MD), “A God Honest Prayer”’

Rock Creek Kings (D.C.), “At the Edge of it All”

Sirius Company (D.C.), “On Top of the Moon”