There are very few exceptions to our rule about not running press releases in these pages, but one of them is definitely when we work with an outlet as esteemed at the ARTery at WBUR. Its preview below does the trick, as our primary purpose here is to inform you about this sweet upcoming event in Allston. Thanks to longtime Dig friend Arielle Gray at WBUR for making the connection, and congratulations to Frances Forever and All The Time Always on taking top honors. We look forward to catching up with both acts in the near future. For now, without further ado … 

The ARTery, WBUR’s arts and culture team, gathered entries of all the local musicians who entered NPR Music’s 2019 Tiny Desk Contest. Out of 254 submissions, the panel of judges selected Frances Forever for her band’s disarming performance of the song “Space Girl.”

“Frances Forever’s video quickly stood out. In the end, our panelists agreed that ‘Space Girl’ had all the ingredients of a great song: an indelible melody, an original conceit, lyrics that hang together,” said Amelia Mason, music critic for The ARTery and a judge of the contest. “Her songs are reminiscent of the smart bedroom pop of peers like Sidney Gish and Clairo, cheerful-sounding ditties that belie more complicated emotions: sadness, longing, resentment.”

Frances Forever is the musical project of Frances Garrett, a 20-year old student at Clark University whose family lives in Melrose. She has been performing as Frances Forever—a play on her first name and the song “Francis Forever” by Mitski—for less than a year. Frances Forever has self-released an EP called “Pockets” and two singles.

As the local favorite, Frances Forever will perform a special concert at WBUR CitySpace at the Lavine Broadcast Center on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 7 pm. One of The ARTery’s other favorite submissions this year—hip-hop artists All The Time Always—will open for Frances Forever at the show. The concert is co-presented by WERS 88.9FM with community support from Newbury Comics, DigBoston, KillerBoomBox, and The Record Company.

Panelists for The ARTery’s favorite Tiny Desk Contest entry from Massachusetts included Mason, musicians Akrobatik and Mark Erelli, Allston Pudding editor-in-chief Christine Varriale, and ARTery arts engagement producer Arielle Gray. Last year’s local favorite winner was Anjimile, a Boston-based singer-songwriter with an exquisite sound and a growing fanbase.

NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest debuted in 2014, and is a national competition offering unsigned artists a shot at performing on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk concert series. Of the thousands of eligible entries from the 2019 contest, 254 were from Massachusetts. Alaska-based musician Quinn Christopherson was the national Tiny Desk winner selected by a panel of judges at NPR Music.

The ARTery’s Massachusetts Favorite Of The Tiny Desk concert begins at 7 pm at CitySpace and tickets are $10 general admission or $5 for students. You can buy tickets at the CitySpace website here.