XPN Fest Recap: St. Paul & the Broken Bones go ham in the golden hour

St. Paul and the Broken Bones | photo by Makena Duffy for WXPN

As the sun set over the Delaware River, St. Paul & the Broken Bones delivered one of the most impressive sets we’ve seen so far this weekend. The throwback soul group from Birmingham, AL played hard-hitting renditions of eleven songs, old and new, and their energy never faltered.

When singer Paul Janeway took the stage, the rest of the band was already grooving at breakneck speed — drummer Andrew Lee was especially spectacular on their up-tempo songs. Janeway wore a sparkling black cloak as he strutted downstage, never afraid to ham it up as a frontman. His falsetto and his bright tenor were as powerful as ever.

The eight-piece band also featured electric guitar and bass, organ, trumpet, trombone and saxophone, and an extended drum-and-saxophone breakdown late in the set was one of the evening’s highlights. Another highlight was their upbeat rendition of “Call Me,” the smash hit from their 2014 debut Half the City.

St. Paul & the Broken Bones’ most recent release was Young Sick Camellia from last year, and they included several cuts from the album in their set at Wiggins Park: “Convex,” “GotItBad,” “Apollo,” and “LivWithoutU.” Find photos and their full setlist below, and listen back to an archive of the show.

Setlist:
LivWithoutU
Flow with It (You Got Me Feeling Like)
All I Ever Wonder
Like a Mighty River
Grass Is Greener
Convex
GotItBad
Apollo
Make It Rain
Call Me
Broken Bones & Pocket Change