Sacramento artist The Philharmonik wins NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest out of almost 7,000 entries

The Philharmonik, a Sacramento musician backed by a large band, won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest with a music video of the artists performing an original song dressed in business casual and slogging away at office jobs.

For the 2024 contest, nearly 7,000 independent artists submitted videos of their songs being performed at desks. The winner of the contest, announced Wednesday during “Morning Edition,” will perform on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, in addition to touring the country.

The Philharmonik, who grew up in Rosemont and whose offstage name is Christian Gates, was interviewed for “All Things Considered” Wednesday morning for the afternoon show. As the winner of the contest, he’ll perform in 10 U.S. cities with the Tiny Desk Contest on the Road Tour, including two California stops: Los Angeles on June 11 and Petaluma on June 13.

Closer to home, Gates will perform as part of Sacramento’s Concerts in the Park on June 14 in Cesar E. Chavez Plaza.

The 30-year-old producer, singer, rapper and multi-instrumentalist said Wednesday by phone that the year leading up to this music video had been rough: “Literally, I felt like my entire life was going to shambles.”

Gates explained that he got a new car in February 2023 and, about three months later, was hit by another car in a crash that almost destroyed his Nissan Versa. He’d been using the car to make ends meet as an Uber driver. His insurance company did not give him nearly enough money to purchase a new, adequate vehicle and, over the next eight months, his financial situation became more and more precarious and stressful.

“I had to like, live in faith for probably a good eight months,” he said. “But it was like every single month kept progressively getting worse financially. And by the time I asked the team to do this video, I had absolutely no money whatsoever.”

He was behind on bills. His severely dented car was on the brink of being repossessed.

“It was just this chaos of financial ruin that was just there, and I was like, I never would have ever expected this,” Gates said. “So you know, we did it. I said, ‘This is the final move that I have in my arsenal, this Tiny Desk thing. I have this vision, and I need your guys’ help,’ and the entire city literally came together to help me.”

Sacramento pulls through for Gates

Devon “Blue” Whitaker, who directed the music video for Gates, helped pay for the photographer and the lights. Roy and Kimiyo Machado of the Sacramento real estate agency All City Homes let Gates use the venue where the artists shot the video “without asking for anything — they just wanted to see me win.”

Gates said, “I asked nine of my bandmates for a favor. I said, ‘I need you guys to come through for me in a big way. And I don’t have money to do it.’ But they all believed in the vision and they believed in me, and we all came together to make this happen.”

Local sound engineer D’Var Baggett set up the audio in the space on the first day; then Whitaker came in to set up the lights and cameras; then, on the third day, the band did three takes.

“The third time,” Gates said, “we nailed it.”

In a video posted to Instagram, NPR Tiny Desk Concert producer Bobby Carter is shown telling Gates that he won the contest with his submission, “What’s It All Mean?”

His mouth dropped open. “The winner?” he asked. “You are the winner,” Carter replied. “The winner?” Gates asked again. His head dropped back. “Oh, my god,” he said, and then started laughing. “Can I bring my band in?” he asked. Several members of the band hopped into the frame and collapsed into a big, ebullient hug.

“Group effort,” Gates said.

Like all eligible entrants to the contest, Gates is not signed to a recording contract. In the winning entry, he bustles through office workers wearing a tan suit and comes to the foreground, where his own desk — and a keyboard — are waiting. He puts his coffee cup on the desk and takes off his jacket, then sits down at the keyboard and begins to groove.

“I was told I could be anything that I wanted to be,” he sings. “Work hard so you can make money and fulfill your dreams. But if you look at the people that are better than me trying find a way around this power scheme — what’s it all mean, what’s it all mean, what’s it all mean?”

The video, NPR announced, “floored this year’s panel of judges.” Carter said in the written statement, “It’s a song and a message we all can connect to — and more importantly, they brought something fresh.”

Hearing an old song with fresh ears

Gates said he wrote “What’s It All Mean?” in a “little quarter-life crisis” he had before the pandemic. He decided at the time that he thought it was boring. In 2023, he revisited the piece.

“I was like, ‘Wow, this song actually sounds much better than I remember it,’” he said. “But I had to tweak the hell out of it, in order to get it to where I wanted it. So I reproduced the thing, practically. And then I really started to like it.” He first released the song in July.

He’d been keeping the win secret since May 8, and he was relieved to be able to share the good news openly finally. After his rough year, the turn of events was a relief.

“It means more work, which I’m really proud of,” he said. “It gives purpose to the work. The work continues.”