Celebrate International Women’s Day with WXPN
For International Women’s Day on Monday, March 8th, WXPN is presenting a full day of special programming, featuring nothing but women and non-binary artists on the air between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. In addition, each of our on-air hosts will present special features throughout the day highlighting iconic artists, educating listeners about behind-the-scenes players, and more.
For the XPN Morning Show (6 a.m. to 10 a.m.), Kristen Kurtis will shine a spotlight on iconic songwriters in the music industry, from Carole King to Missy Elliott. Co-host Bob Bumbera will present hourly spotlights on celebrated women in music, such as Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt, with Kurtis sharing inspiration tree profiles tracing the influence of Dolly Parton, Nina Simone, and more. And for the 9:00 hour of the show, Kurtis will feature sibling groups from Heart and Sister Sledge to The Breeders and Tegan & Sara.
On the XPN Midday Show (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Helen Leicht will use her daily Fab Four segment to play a set of women covering songs by The Beatles. For the Leicht Lunch at noon, she’ll play back career highlights by legendary bassist Carol Kaye, who performed on 10,000 songs including hits by The Crystals, Sonny & Cher, and Ike & Tina Turner. Kaye turns 86 at the end of this month. Leicht will also showcase the work of Grammy award winning mastering engineerEmily Lazer, who worked on three records nominated for Album of the Year in 2021, including Haim’s Women In Music Part III.
On World Cafe (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.), Raina Douris presents an interview with producer / engineer Trina Shoemaker. She’ll talk about the sacrifice and persistence it took to build her career and become the first woman to win an engineering Grammy, as well as her time working with artists like Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, and Brandi Carlile. Douris will also delve into the Cafe archives for live recordings of inspiring songs from some of the show’s favorite female artists from the U.S. and around the world. Plus, listeners gave World Cafe some suggestions on Twitter and Facebook for what they wanted to hear, including some new music, which is highlighted at the end of the show.
On Afternoons with Dan Reed (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.), we’ll take a deep dive into the new album by March Artist To Watch Tamar Aphek, highlight influential women in country music like Emmylou Harris and Loretta Lynn, and close out with an all-women edition of Highs In the 70s.
And on Kids Corner (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.), host Kathy O’Connell will celebrate the women of family music, from Pioneer Ella Jenkins to 2021 Grammy nominee Joanie Leeds. In addition, Kids Corner’s Who’s Who in History segment will introduce today’s audience to women whose historic contributions in science, sports, the arts and culture impact our lives.
Additionally, Monday’s World Cafe will rebroadcast from 8 to 10 p.m.
Tune in all day on 88.5 FM in Philadelphia, stream the station online at XPN.org, listen on the XPN app, or tell your smart speaker to play WXPN.