Over the weekend I got a chance to cover WXPN’s XPoNential Music Festival for indiewave. It was a cool opportunity because the radio station is a pillar of the indie music community, especially in Philly. Or, as Julia Steiner of Ratboys declared from the stage, “XPN is a beacon of independent media in this AI craphole we’re living in.”
It was also a full-circle moment because I’ve attended the festival for years as a spectator and witnessed some legendary acts like Dr. Dog, The War on Drugs and Wilco shred under the XPN banner. My biggest musical regret even stems from gambling on a storm being heavy enough to wipe out the event and missing Bob Dylan and My Morning Jacket.
It’s not your typical hypebeast music festival. There’s a robust sense of community as you walk around. Sure, a buzzy lineup and good marketing help add to the crowd, but I’m fairly confident an indiewave DJ set could be announced as the Saturday headliner and the grounds would still be packed because these people just trust XPN’s taste.
Lucky for them, some better acts were in store. Here’s the best of what I saw:
Mackenzie Johnson
Approaching the gates we walked past a rowdy group of drunk teens in cowboy boots. I didn’t think they were out for Leif Vollebekk. Turns out there was a Jason Aldean concert next door. When I heard a chilling rendition of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Strange Magic,” I knew I was in the right place. As she wrapped up, a barefoot guy in a boonie hat yelled “THIS IS WHY WE’RE HERE” at the top of his lungs, so I wasn’t the only one that enjoyed her cover choice. She announced that this was her first time playing a major festival, but an assured swirl of folk and pop covered up any jitters.
Couch
This Boston septet seemed to be one of the bands who drew their own crowd. The name is misleading because they had everyone on their feet moving around to a theatrical blend of funk, pop and jazz. The lead singer doubled as a conductor leading the group in between solos: “Come on BASS!” “Okay now HORNS!”
St. Paul and the Broken Bones
The entire band came out in slick black suits, contrasted with lead singer Paul Janeway in a gold sequin robe and spiky gold loafers as he led his band through an improvisational spectacle. Halfway through “Sushi and Coca-Cola” the beat started to ride out and he yelled out “14 times!” The band hit that beat 14 times, then 19 times, then 21.5 times. He was almost grading the band each time, “Oh yeahh! Not bad.” Then he turned it to the crowd, but he wasn’t as impressed “alright that ain’t the WORST I ever heard, but maybe you’ve drank a little too much and you’re clapping slow.”
As if that wasn’t enough to make it memorable, he wandered into the crowd for the most intimate song of the set and then climbed to the top of a ladder that his crewmen had set up in the middle of the pit. It was a powerful soul performance, but he was also the greatest pure showman of the weekend.
Portugal. The Man
When WXPN Middays host Mike Vasilikos came out to announce the Saturday headliner, he said he had “made a friend” and turned the mic over to 9-year-old Ford Ospitale from Bay Shore, NY. Funny enough, I had just met his mother Jenn in the crowd and she gave me the full story:
“We were walking around and met this awesome guy, Mike, who mentioned he also grew up on Long Island. He noticed Ford’s Portugal. the Man shirt and we told him that PTM was his favorite band and that we came all the way from New York just to see them. About an hour later, we were sitting in our lawn chairs when Mike approaches us again. This time, he was wearing an orange WXPN lanyard around his neck and asked if Ford would be interested in introducing the band. Immediately we all freaked out and were so excited! Mike took him backstage and introduced him to the band. Core memories were made. He felt like a celebrity!”
Ford took the microphone and yelled, “PLEASE WELCOME… PORTUGAL. THE MAN,” and the band ran out just as the sun started to disappear behind the Philly skyline. As it got darker, the city glow danced across the Delaware River to add to the light show.
While known to some as indie-pop titans, they packed more of a punch than you’d expect. Many bands sound a little heavier live, but there were patches with a legit post-hardcore lean. Halfway through, frontman John Gourley shouted, “these are old people, they want old songs” as they launched into the breezier indie hits from their mid-2000’s catalogue.
Before playing “Feel It Still,” Gourley invited every child in the park to come up and dance. He had to clarify he was serious before the kids, including Ford, started flooding to the stage to be hoisted up one by one. I think it was partially a playful nod to the unexpected mainstream success of the song, but the set started and ended on a wholesome note.
Tyler Ballgame
His debut album For The First Time, Again made some waves, evidenced by an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March. His set filled some of the void left by missing My Morning Jacket at XPN all those years ago because I was blown away by his Jim James-esque vocal range that floated from Robert Plant-like passion to extended notes that almost resembled opera to an untrained ear. To solidify things, the “THIS IS WHY WE’RE HERE” boonie hat guy was back in full throat to stamp his approval.
Sierra Hull
This was the most pleasant surprise of the weekend for me. She yelled, “there’s probably more people in this crowd than there are in my hometown right now, but the Tennessee bluegrass culture is rich,” as she triggered a foot-stomping romp that had people clearing out space to dance. Probably not something I would have picked out a few days ago, but that’s the beauty of the festival.
Ratboys
A few weeks after strutting their stuff on NPR’s Tiny Desk series, they showed they can still rip in a more sprawling landscape. Singin’ to an Empty Chair is having a moment, so I expected the pleasant twang to tip into a frenetic haze at times, but what I hadn’t picked up on before was the honesty and vulnerability in the songwriting. To close, they announced to the crowd, “this is our third time playing Philly this year. We actually told our booking agent it isn’t a good year unless we play Philly 3 times.” The people didn’t seem to mind the pandering.
Little Feat
I was mainly there to relive the nostalgia of hearing “Dixie Chicken” on the Southern Rock Gold compilation CD in my dad’s car, but “Willin’” ended up being my favorite song of the night. Watching them trade off vocal duties and solos was a fun glimpse into the old school team effort approach. They are sometimes grouped into yacht rock conversations, so it was funny that a yacht started slowly passing behind the stage, carrying the music along with it as a ceremonial end to the weekend.
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