Andrew Lipke | Photo by Chris Sikich
Gillian Grassie | Photo by Chris Sikich
Gillian Grassie | Photo by Chris Sikich
Gillian Grassie | Photo by Chris Sikich
Following up his Siddiqah EP from May, local singer-songwriter Andrew Lipke has shared a new song with us called “Ascetic Blues.” The track comes as a preview of Lipke’s next full-length Songs from Siddhartha (with an expected release in the spring) and showcases Lipke’s knack for creating orchestral rock pieces that still feel intimate. “Ascetic Blues” is available as a free download on Lipke’s Soundcloud and Bandcamp through the end of the year. He’ll be performing at The Tin Angel this Friday, December 21st for the Winter Solstice Concert with Gillian Grassie; tickets and information are available here. Stream the new song below.
Indie singer and harpist Gillian Grassie is playing tonight at World Cafe Live with Danielle Ate the Sandwich. Grassie, who performed as part of XPN’s 12 Days of Local Christmas last December, has been touring around the world since the 2007 release of her first full length album, Serpentine. Her show tonight begins at 8 p.m. and ticket start at $10; see more details here. Below, watch Grassie perform “Back to Your Flat” at a concert in Delmenhorst, Germany.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from WXPN and The Key! The last several weeks we celebrated the holiday season by offering a twelve original seasonal songs. WXPN’s Helen Leicht asked local bands to write and record original holiday songs for the third year in a row which the bands have offered as free downloads. Thanks to all the bands for these wonderful songs. You can download the entire sampler as a .zip file here.
The 12 Days of XPN Philly Local Christmas Sampler
Find Vienna – “Christmas Is For Our Hearts”
Gillian Grassie – “When the Night Gets Long”
Summer Fiction – “Christmas Eve for Two”
Matt Santry – “The Xmas Song”
Atomic Square – “Christmas Time is here”
Scot Sax and Suzie Brown – “Coming Your Way”
Angel Band – “I Want A Present”
JD Malone & the Experts – “Best Day Of The Year”
Kingsfoil – “The Valley, A Christmas Song”
John Flynn – “Christmas Balls”
Ben Smith – “I Got A New Tattoo For Christmas”
Ali Hoffman – “Evergreen”
Award-winning indie harpist singer/songwriter Gillian Grassie has sold out shows from Philadelphia’s Tin Angel to the Matador in Siberia. More Regina Spektor than Joanna Newsome, Grassie delivers literary lyrics with an expressive, soulful soprano over a blend of jazz inflected folk/pop that is smart, assessable, and completely captivating.
Below, you can listen to and download the song she wrote for XPN’s 12 Days Of Christmas this year called “When the Night Gets Long”; you can read more about Gillian at her website.
Gillian Grassie’s next area show is with Sam DuPont at 8 p.m. Friday, December 23rd, at
The Kennett Flash; tickets to the all-ages show are $12–$15. —Nick Bookbinder
