NPR Features Denver Band on “Desk of the Day” Series

DOGTAGS is always leveling up.

The nine-piece Denver band, which in December put on one of our favorite concerts of 2025, released its debut album, ROSEWORLD, last summer, and now its upcoming single “Being Three” has been highlighted on NPR’s “Desk of the Day” series, which highlights selections from Tiny Desk submissions on the outlet’s Instagram story and other platforms.

DOGTAGS founders Michael Merola and Regi Worles were thrilled when they woke up to a notification that “Being Three” was featured alongside songs by other bands that were chosen from 6,000 entries. And there’s still a chance that DOGTAGS will make it to Tiny Desk itself, with those results coming out later this spring.

“This was actually our fifth entry into the Tiny Desk contest,” Merola says, noting how many members of DOGTAGS, which formed in 2021, have discovered their favorite bands through the format.

“In 2023, we recorded ‘Sasori,’ and that actually did get a shout-out from NPR,” he says. “One of the promotions they do is a highlight reel, a two or three-minute YouTube video with a bunch of different videos clipped on it. But it was funny — our submission did get a shout-out, but they actually said that our band name was ‘Sasori.’ But it was our video, and that was really cool to see — like, NPR noticed us.”

Their submissions were not featured over the next two years, although last year’s video for “Wondering” helped kick off some promotion for ROSEWORLD. “I do think the Tiny Desk contest is a really powerful tool for artists to put out their stuff and kind of integrate it into their strategy for the year,” Merola says. But it’s even more satisfying, of course, when you are selected (and with your name spelled correctly).

“This year we really wanted to make an art piece that shines and stands on its own,” Merola says. “We really wanted to make something we’re proud of [and] submit something that we’re passionate about, that looks great, that feels really emotional, and sort of put out the thoughts from our mind of just winning the contest or going viral. It was just, ‘Let’s make something that we’re proud of.’ And I am so proud of the way the video turned out; every time I watch it, I get so emotional. I can feel all nine of us really pouring into the song itself.

“And lo and behold,” he continues, “last week, we wake up and we are tagged by NPR in a story, and there were ‘Desk of the Day’ story posts from them. We’re like, ‘Wow, we have NPR in our DMs!'”

The song, written by Worles nine years ago, has long been a fan favorite at DOGTAGS live shows, although the track hasn’t been released — yet. “Being Three,” which will drop sometime in April, was inspired by a love-triangle situation, Worles says, and in typical DOGTAGS style, the ballad is emotive, vulnerable and envelopes the listener with rich, textured sonics. “It’s sort of about that feeling of, you’re almost trapped,” he explains.

A friend made a video of Worles and Merola performing the song at one of DOGTAGS’ first shows in 2021, “and we’re just on the floor and not even on the stage, just a raw and scrappy performance,” Worles notes.

It underscores the band’s enormous growth, not just in members but in musicality. “To see it nine years later, same song arranged with a nine-piece band, my voice and Michael’s guitar blending better than ever, built-in moments for the cello and the trumpet and the synth player — it just felt so right,” Worles says. “And we went to Regis, where I went to college, to film it. So to me, it just felt like a completion of this story and a way to resonate with people.”

In a newsletter, NPR said this about DOGTAGS’ “Desk of the Day” submission: “Scattered around an office, DOGTAGS sing a queer anthem of moving forward in ‘Being Three.’”

The newsletter also mentioned all the other bands featured so far. “I really went through and watched everyone else’s videos, and I was so impressed to see such a diverse array of music,” Merola says, shouting out Lisa Chiodo, KC Shane & the Belonging and a band called rug that, similar to DOGTAGS, has a large swath of members. “It made me realize maybe big bands are coming back,” he adds.

Merola tagged the other bands in an Instagram story and says they’ve all started following each other. “Tiny Desk is a great place for community,” he notes.

“It really does help with growing your network as an artist,” Worles adds, “because you’re all kind of vying for this opportunity, but there’s so much attention on it that even just by celebrating little things like ‘Desk of the Day,’ you’re able to get some connections you wouldn’t otherwise have. People are saying to us, ‘Oh, if you’re ever in New York, let’s do a show together; if you’re ever in Utah, let’s do a show together,’ which is a cool way for us to get those types of connections that we don’t necessarily always have.”

And the Denver scene is applauding DOGTAGS, as well.

“The love from the community about the video has been incredible,” Merola says. “I think people are really connecting with the song and the video that we made, which was our intention with it.”

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