Mike Flanagan, otherwise known as his stage name MRF, is an openly gay musician now based in New York City by way of Boston whose career is on an upwards trajectory.
For those unfamiliar on who Mike actually is, let's catch you up to speed. Mike is an incredible jazz musician, who has released two albums under his stage name MRF. Those albums have gone on to do amazing things such as debuting at number one on the iTunes Jazz Albums charts and even placed him on Billboard's coveted Heatseekers.
He has also won a slew of awards for his incredible musical efforts. His sophomore album, Mob Music, earned him 2 OUTmusic Awards: Humanitarian Songwriter of the Year ("Be Strong") and Best Spoken Word ("Tender") out of a total of 5 nominations that year.
Also included in those nominations was Best Music Video, for MRF's impactful video "Trying" which depicts a break-up between himself and another man. Both songs also from the Mob Music album, available on Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes (link here).
The talented saxophonist also won him the 2017 John Lennon Songwriting Competition Grand Prize in Hip-Hop for his song "Mob Music." Now, he and his favorite singer-songwriter collaborator Lisa Bello have submitted an entry to NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. The video is a live performance of Lisa's new single "Ain't it Something," off her forthcoming EP Tommy Boy.
The contest is designed to find undiscovered talent and give them a major platform to perform the songs they've written and loved. The winner will play at a Tiny Desk concert in Washington D.C., tour the United States with NPR and Lagunitas, and appear at a taping of NPR's show Ask me Another.
Take a look at their incredible submission above. For more information on MRF, click here.