Public Radio’s Leading Music Program World Cafe® Celebrates 35 Years of Music Discovery Throughout October
Month-long celebration looks back at memorable artists and moments from the World Cafe archive while featuring new interviews and performances from Alabama Shakes, Remi Wolf, Lizzy McAlpine and many more
Throughout October, public radio's leading music program World Cafe® will celebrate its 35th anniversary with special programming highlighting the music discovery and award-winning storytelling that have shaped the show since its launch in 1991. The WXPN-produced and NPR-distributed nationally syndicated program reaches more than 300 public radio stations nationwide and is hosted by Raina Douris with contributing host Stephen Kallao. The anniversary programming will revisit memorable moments from its archive while featuring new performances and interviews with Remi Wolf, The Wiggles, Alabama Shakes, Social Distortion, Lizzy McAlpine and many more.
Raina Douris - Credit: Paige Walter
“World Cafe has always been about discovery - and rediscovery. Even years into hosting the show, I often still have moments where I am amazed by the depth of World Cafe’s archives of performances and interviews,” says host Raina Douris. “Getting to share gems from the archives as we celebrate World Cafe’s 35th anniversary – while continuing to add to them with conversations and sessions from exciting new artists every week, is such a joy and a privilege.”
The anniversary celebration kicks off tomorrow, October 1, with the first of five “First Time” features, revisiting the debut World Cafe conversations with musicians who went on to become some of today’s standout artists. The series will spotlight Clairo on October 1, beabadoobee on October 6, Arlo Parks on October 15, Wet Leg on October 21, and Danielle Ponder on October 30.
On Wednesday, October 14, the 35th anniversary of its first broadcast, World Cafe will mark the occasion with a new interview and performance from Remi Wolf, whose new album Mud will be released on October 9. The anniversary month will also feature four episodes of “Backtracking,” World Cafe’s new series that asks artists to select songs from their own catalog in response to different prompts. Artists then share the stories behind the songs they’ve chosen. October's “Backtracking” artists include Feist on October 5, David Gray on October 12, Lucinda Williams on October 19, and Josh Ritter on October 26.
Fridays throughout the month will bring a mix of new interviews and performances including The Wiggles on October 2, Alabama Shakes on October 9, Jen Agg for a Personal Records feature on October 16, Social Distortion on October 23, and Lizzy McAlpine on October 30. The program will also look back across all four decades of its history with a series of needle drops highlighting music from the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. The decade features will run during the weeks of October 5, October 12, October 19, and October 26, respectively.
On October 28, World Cafe will join public radio stations around the country in celebrating Public Radio Music Day with a special “Sounds Like Home” episode.
Launched in 1991 by founding host David Dye, World Cafe has spent 35 years documenting the evolution of music through intimate artist conversations, live performances, and stories from around the world. Its extensive archive includes sessions and conversations with artists including Dolly Parton, Al Green, Adele, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Radiohead, Billie Eilish, David Bowie, Mavis Staples, Elton John, Questlove, Sheryl Crow and countless others.
“When we launched World Cafe in 1991, the idea was to create a place where listeners could discover great music and artists could have meaningful conversations about their work,” explains World Cafe executive producer Bruce Warren. “The music has changed enormously over 35 years, but that sense of discovery and connection has remained at the heart of the show. It’s incredible to look back at the artists who have come through the Cafe and realize how much musical history we’ve had the opportunity to document along the way.” Alongside its daily programming and regular interviews and performances, the show's award-winning “Sense of Place” series has taken World Cafe beyond the studio to explore the music and culture of cities around the world, with recent installments spotlighting Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Fort Collins, Provo, Rome, Montreal, Tokyo, and most recently Dublin.
