Gaelynn Lea, Dry & Dusty

At the end of last year’s edition of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, violinist Gaelynn Lea was named the winner among 6,100 entrants. And it’s no wonder: The Duluth, Minnesota, native’s ethereal voice is a perfect match for her delicate melodies and lilting string arrangements; check out her Tiny Desk audition video, which features her haunting original composition “Someday We’ll Linger in the Sun,” to get an idea of her powers. Lea, born with a genetic condition that stunted her bone growth, is a vocal advocate for people with disabilities (she recently hosted a TED Talk about the narrow parameters of our culture’s beauty standards), and she’s also a member of the Murder of Crows, a duo she formed with Alan Sparhawk of the alt-rock band Low.