Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have never shied away from onstage silliness. When this year’s NPR Tiny Desk Contest came around, the Baltimore-based jam-funk quartet saw an opening to continue their habit of onstage shenanigans.

On March 22nd, during their performance at House of Blues Cleveland, the band brought out a special surprise “guest”: a mini action figure of wrestling icon Ric Flair, seated at an equally tiny toy desk. The band placed the toy Flair and the toy desk at the front of the stage for a performance of “Somethin’ For Ya”—appropriately, a song that features a prominent “WOO!”

A week later, on April 1st, the band doubled down on their Ric Flair “collaborations,” announcing a new Flair-branded Pigeons hot sauce. Of course, as you may have guessed, the new hot sauce collab was an April Fool’s prank.

However, the band used the buzz generated by the joke as a launchpad for the release of their own NPR Tiny Desk Contest submission—the video of them, action figure Flair and the extra-tiny toy desk from Cleveland. After all, the submission guidelines for the NPR Tiny Desk contest only require entrants to submit “a short video under ten (10) minutes in length, depicting that Entrant’s performance of a single, original song at a desk (any desk!)” Nicely played, Pigeons…

Check out Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s NPR Tiny Desk Contest submission below. WOO!

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – “Somethin’ For Ya” – NPR Tiny Desk Contest Submission

[Video: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong]

You can check out a list of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s upcoming tour dates below. For more information and ticketing details, head to the band’s website here.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Upcoming Tour Dates

4/4 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom &
4/5 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom **
4/6 – Portland, ME – The State Theatre **
4/12 – Rochester, NY – Anthology **
4/13 – Rochester, NY – Anthology %
4/19 – 4/21 – Atlanta, GA – SweetWater 420 Fest
4/24 – Columbia, MO – Blue Note ~
4/25 – Urbana, IL – Canopy ~
4/26 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom ~
4/27 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater ~
4/28 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown ~
5/2 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre !
5/3 & 5/4 – New Orleans, LA – Mardi Gras World Ballroom #
5/16 – 5/18 – Masontown, WV – Domefest
5/24 – 5/26 – Chillicothe, IL – Summer Camp
5/31 – 6/2 – Ozark, AR – Backwoods
6/27 – 6/30 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest
7/4 – 7/7 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Music Festival
7/12 – 7/14 – Marshfield, MA – Levitate Music And Arts Festival
7/18 – 7/21 – North Plains, OR – Northwest String Summit
7/25 – 7/28 – Scranton, PA – Peach Music Festival
8/1 – Darrington, WA – Summer Meltdown
8/3 – Bonnet, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater *
8/17 – Cockeysville, MD – Hot August Music Festival
8/22 – 8/25 – Arrington, VA – Lockn’
9/21 – 9/22 – Asbury Park, NJ – Sea Hear Now

& w/ Goose
% w/ Kitchen Dwellers
~ w/ Twiddle
! w/ Twiddle & Kitchen Dwellers
# w/ The String Cheese Incident
* w/ Umphrey’s McGee

View Upcoming Tour Dates