WXPN welcomes Rodriquez at Keswick Theatre tonight. Achieving fame through the Oscar winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, Sixto Rodriguez’s music career was given new life as he now commences an incredible tour playing dates all over the world, and popular festivals such as Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. Although Rodriguez’s early career did not garner high success, his music found an audience in South Africa and then continued to tell his story through the award winning documentary. He has two studio albums, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality released in 1970 and ’71 respectively, with his most recent releases being a single in 2002 and a compilation in 2005 canlled Sugarman: The Best of Rodriguez. The show, originally planned for Tuesday, was rescheduled to tonight; all original tickets will be honored. Tickets and information for the all-ages show with Jenny O can be found here. Below, enjoy Rodriguez playing “Crucify Your Mind” on the David Letterman show.
Yesterday a stacked, eclectic lineup took the Austin Convention Radio Day Stage for an afternoon-long show thrown by Triple-A public radio stations WFUV in New York, The Current in Minneapolis / St. Paul, KXT in Dallas, KUTX in Austin and WXPN.
The Public Radio Rocks! showcase kicked off with gritty rockers Divine Fits; went into introspective mode in a collaborative set by Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, and a solo performance by Iron & Wine‘s Sam Beam; spotlighted classic soul showmanship care of Daptone Records all-star Charles Bradley; introduced the crowd to new soul-rock outfit Pickwick, from Seattle; brought perennial favorites Dawes out to regale the room with tunes from their new record; and wrapped up with Vampire Weekend playing to a massively packed house.
Check out scenes from the day in the photo gallery above, and watch videos of Vampire Weekend playing “A Punk” and Iron & Wine playing “Woman King” below.
When London folk revivalists Mumford & Sons announced their two-night stand at Susquehanna Bank Center shortly after their sophomore LP Babel dropped in the fall, both shows sold out in seconds. For those who didn’t get tickets, WXPN is broadcasting the band’s set on Sunday night the 17th in its entirety. The night begins at 8 p.m. with host Mike Vasilikos live from the Susquehanna Bank Center while Haim and Ben Howard warm up the crowd. When Mumford goes on, we turn the airwaves over to the stage as the band works through songs from Babel and its 2009 debut Sigh No More. Tune in on the radio at 88.5 FM in Philadelphia or online at XPN.org. Below, check out a video of the band performing “I Will Wait” sold-out show at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn – clearly, the local crowd is in for a high energy mass-singalong whether it’s on-air on in the flesh.
Philly music blog The Swollen Fox has long been one of our go-to resources for news on concert announcements and a comprehensive listing of shows coming to town. So we’re excited to announce that WXPN has partnered with Kevin Kennedy, the man behind the Fox, to run our new and improved WXPN Concert Calendar. In addition to highlighting our monthly compliment of XPN Welcomes concerts, the calendar now lists virtually every show happening in the XPN-listening region; from major venues like the Susquehanna Bank Center and The Capitol Theatre in Lancaster to tiny rooms like Kung Fu Necktie and the Burlap and Bean coffeehouse. It also includes prices, ticket links, onsale information, age restrictions and is searchable by Philadelphia area as well as Central Pennsylvania. Dig in to the calendar and plan your next several months of concertgoing here.
As part of this year’s 885 Greatest Rock Songs countdown on WXPN, we asked a number of well-known Philadelphians to share their own picks for the best rock and roll moments of all time. Today we bring you the greatest rock songs according to Naila Francis, columnist and staff writer for The Intelligencer.
1. Marc Broussard – “Home”
2. Danielia Cotton – “Try”
3. Brandi Carlile – “The Story”
4. Will Hoge – “The Man Who Killed Love”
5. Matthew Perryman Jones – “Land of the Living”
As part of this year’s 885 Greatest Rock Songs countdown on WXPN, we asked a number of well-known Philadelphians to share their own picks for the best rock and roll moments of all time. Jennaphr Frederick, reporter for Fox 29, shares her top five recommendations for the greatest rock songs collection.
As part of this year’s 885 Greatest Rock Songs countdown on WXPN, we asked a number of well-known Philadelphians to share their own picks for the best rock and roll moments of all time. Today, Randy Chepigan from Philadelphia’s Total Traffic Network shares his greatest rock songs.
WXPN welcomes Rodriquez at Keswick Theatre tonight. Achieving fame through the Oscar winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, Sixto Rodriguez’s music career was given new life as he now commences an incredible tour playing dates all over the world, and popular festivals such as Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. Although Rodriguez’s early career did not garner high success, his music found an audience in South Africa and then continued to tell his story through the award winning documentary. He has two studio albums, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality released in 1970 and ’71 respectively, with his most recent releases being a single in 2002 and a compilation in 2005 canlled Sugarman: The Best of Rodriguez. The show, originally planned for Tuesday, was rescheduled to tonight; all original tickets will be honored. Tickets and information for the all-ages show with Jenny O can be found here. Below, enjoy Rodriguez playing “Crucify Your Mind” on the David Letterman show.
