By Max Semenczuk
[Photo courtesy of Quinn Christopherson/Jovell Rennie]

Quinn Christopherson, this year’s winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Contest, played his song “Loaded Gun” live on WXPN’s World Cafe in Philadelphia on Monday, October 28.

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Christopherson was announced as the winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk competition earlier this year and allegedly wrote “Loaded Gun” after receiving the phone call from Tiny Desk host Bob Boilen telling Christopherson he had won the contest. 

“I wrote that song because I had never gone on tour before,” Christopherson said to NPR.

During his Tiny Desk Concert on June 11, Christopherson played “You Told Me,” “Glenn” and “Erase Me.” In the songs, Christopherson discusses his childhood and upbringing, as well as his relationship with his father.

“Erase Me” specifically covers Christopherson’s journey as coming out as a transgender man in 2017. “Erase Me” was one of over 6,000 entries in 2019 for the NPR Tiny Desk Concert Contest. Christopherson made a music video for the song in April 2019.

There are three other videos on Christopherson’s YouTube channel, including live versions of “Erase Me” and “Loaded Gun” as well as a video for an older song titled “Mary Alee.”

Christopherson comes from Alaska and did not receive much recognition for his work before winning the NPR competition. Christopher has said that he didn’t even own a guitar until recently because the community in Anchorage is tightly-knit and allows long-term borrowing of instruments and other equipment.

Christopherson is currently working on his debut solo album, which will be released in 2020. He will also perform at South By Southwest in 2020.

Check out Christopherson’s World Cafe episode here and listen to Christopherson’s Tiny Desk Concert below: