Trey Anastasio recently judged NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, All Songs Considered, alongside Robin Hilton, Miguel, Anthony Hamilton, Ben Hopkins, BANKS, and several other folks who listen to an awful lot of music. After contest winners Tank and the Bangas stole our hearts with their performance last Friday, the Phish guitarist went out of his way to reach out to more contestants and express his fandom and appreciation for their music even though their submissions were not chosen. Specifically, the note he sent to Fort Lauderdale’s Killmama regarding their entry will tug at your heartstrings:

Dear Rob and Sophie,

My name is Trey Anastasio and i’m the guitar player and singer for the group Phish. I was also a judge on the tiny desk contest, which you may have heard declared a winner this morning. I just wanted to write to tell you that after watching mountains of videos, your entry by far was one of my favorites. Your band is so cool – the drumming is great, the amazing guitar playing, the song writing..and Sophie, your singing voice is wicket. I’ve already forwarded your vid to lots of my friends. I’m a fan. I guess this is just a fan letter.

Anyway – I just want to wish you guys the best with the band – keep doing what you do – it’s amazing.

All the best,

Trey Anastasio

The letter surfaced in the form of a Facebook post from Rob and Sophie of Killmama. You can see the full post below:

You can also check out their submission video, about which Trey gushes in his “fan letter”:

As a from Andrew Pietro quote in the band’s bio explains, “When you go far enough south, the south stops being the south and the scenery transforms back from trailer park trash to suburban sprawl as you enter the southern tip of Florida. It’s no Williamsburg, but somehow culture seems to be on the upswing as you approach the equator- if you know where to look. Killmama is a testament to that new_new rebel shit. Tracking up ‘Lost It (Take My Time)’ immediately shoves the big black boot to your throat. But somewhere between the Stripes-esque guitar and plummeting drums there’s a soft side; exhibit A- bridge. If you’ve lost your memory for riding around in that fat white van with drum gear bouncing around the back from venue to venue hoping to make enough gas money to get you to the next destination, than que up Killmama to relive the good days, you know, when you were reallllllly happy. Dig deep.”

“Fort Lauderdale’s Killmama started in 2012 as the unplanned child of Sophie Sputnik and Rob Kingsley. After teaching herself to play the drums in a 72 hour period, Sophie and Rob began forging a sound far removed from their backgrounds as a singer-songwriter and punk guitarist. Killmama’s sound–grimy as a barroom floor, shimmering like an Everglades backroad in the dead of summer–has overflowed taverns and dives from South Beach to the Deep South. Killmama is South Florida’s raw nerve.” – Brennan Forsyth (Producer, The Joyce Kaufman Show)

We’re into it.