Bobby Carter | January 26, 2026 This week, we celebrate the Tiny Desk Contest community with concerts by some of our favorite entrants over the years.
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
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