The 2025 XPoNential Music Festival at Wiggins Park & Marina 9/19-21
photos: Izzie Chausse
Philly non-commercial radio station, WXPN 88.5fm, returned this past weekend with its three-day annual XPoNential Music Festival at Camden's Wiggins Park Waterfront and Marina presented by Subaru. Facing a gorgeous view of the Philadelphia as a backdrop, this year's event featured over 20 local, regional, and national acts like War, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, Molly Tuttle, Greensky Bluegrass, Soccer Mommy, Daniel Donato, Spin Doctors, and more.
Opening the festival on Friday night was Philly's own singer/songwriter, Fawziyya Heart, on Marina stage with a 3-piece band behind her, showing off her angelic, vocal prowess, recently released her upbeat single, All I See. Heart performed a new song, 'Lavender' which was dedicated to her mom in the front row, following up later in the set with the Grateful Dead's 'Sugaree' and the 2006 Gnarls Barkley hit, 'Crazy'.
We then caught up with Philly songwriter & organ/keyboard player, Black Buttafly (Kayla Childs), on the Roland Traynor River stage with Philly as her backdrop and her full band dishing out groovy, soulful jams, with Childs on vocals. In November of 2024, Childs released her debut EP, Fly Free. Back over on the Marina stage, taking us into the evening was the energetic Grammy-nominated Memphis quintet, Southern Avenue, laying down positive vibes with powerful, feel-good gospel-inspired vocals from lead singer, Tierinii Jackson. In mid-spring of this year, the band released their fourth studio album, Family.
Three-time XPNfest vets, Preservation Hall Jazz band, returned to Wiggins Park for this year's fest, perpetuating the fun and artful music of New Orleans jazz to a packed crowd enjoying a serene sun-down scene over Philly as the set began. After having a busy summer, performing at Boston Calling, The Roots Picnic, Ottawa Jazz Fest, and Newport Folk Fest, rising Philly funkers and jammers, Snacktime, returned to the festival this year and took the Marina the stage for a set full of fun-filled tunes. Closing out night one and making their first appearance at XPNfest, was the legendary funk/soul troupe, War, fronted by original member Lonnie Jordan on vocals/keys, playing their classic hits from the 70s including 'Why Can't We Be Friends', 'Cisco Kid', and 'Spill the Wine', with both Snacktime and Preservation Hall Jazz Band returning to the stage to join the band for an extended 'Low Rider', giving us not one but two sousaphones on stage along with the many other horns.
Opening the festival on Friday night was Philly's own singer/songwriter, Fawziyya Heart, on Marina stage with a 3-piece band behind her, showing off her angelic, vocal prowess, recently released her upbeat single, All I See. Heart performed a new song, 'Lavender' which was dedicated to her mom in the front row, following up later in the set with the Grateful Dead's 'Sugaree' and the 2006 Gnarls Barkley hit, 'Crazy'.
We then caught up with Philly songwriter & organ/keyboard player, Black Buttafly (Kayla Childs), on the Roland Traynor River stage with Philly as her backdrop and her full band dishing out groovy, soulful jams, with Childs on vocals. In November of 2024, Childs released her debut EP, Fly Free. Back over on the Marina stage, taking us into the evening was the energetic Grammy-nominated Memphis quintet, Southern Avenue, laying down positive vibes with powerful, feel-good gospel-inspired vocals from lead singer, Tierinii Jackson. In mid-spring of this year, the band released their fourth studio album, Family.
Three-time XPNfest vets, Preservation Hall Jazz band, returned to Wiggins Park for this year's fest, perpetuating the fun and artful music of New Orleans jazz to a packed crowd enjoying a serene sun-down scene over Philly as the set began. After having a busy summer, performing at Boston Calling, The Roots Picnic, Ottawa Jazz Fest, and Newport Folk Fest, rising Philly funkers and jammers, Snacktime, returned to the festival this year and took the Marina the stage for a set full of fun-filled tunes. Closing out night one and making their first appearance at XPNfest, was the legendary funk/soul troupe, War, fronted by original member Lonnie Jordan on vocals/keys, playing their classic hits from the 70s including 'Why Can't We Be Friends', 'Cisco Kid', and 'Spill the Wine', with both Snacktime and Preservation Hall Jazz Band returning to the stage to join the band for an extended 'Low Rider', giving us not one but two sousaphones on stage along with the many other horns.
Pop singer-songwriter and winner of this year's 24 Hour Song Challenge, Sadie Gust started off Saturday's full day of music on the River stage followed by set from Maxwell Stern & The Good Light Band on the Marina stage performing tunes off they're latest album, In The Good Light. Philly's own singer-songwriter Owen Stewart brough his full band to the River stage to perform vintage grooves through a modern lens, releasing his debut album Done and Dusted just last October. Just before 2:30pm, we caught up with Merril Garbus & Nate Brenner's experimental art-pop project duo, Tune-Yards next on the Marina stage, building songs in real time using loop pedals and layered vocals, while also delivering a dash of social commentary. Back on the River stage as the field filled, Nashville-based indie rock singer-songwriter, Soccer Mommy took the stage performing introspective, vulnerable, and often haunting tunes from her October 2024 release, Evergreen.
British Singer-songwriter Richard Thompson co-founded the seminal band Fairport Convention in 1976, helping pioneer British folk rock, and has recorded 18 studio albums, brought his solo acoustic set to XPNfest on the Marina stage. He's been called "the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix" by the Los Angeles Times. In 2011, Thompson received an Order of the British Empire personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. Next on the River stage, we took in a set from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist/bajo player, Molly Tuttle with her band, who performed at Annapolis Baygrass Festival on Sunday. Always a site to see, Tuttle dazzled the crowd with technical skill and redefines what bluegrass can be - technically brilliant, emotionally resonant, and endlessly inventive. Her latest, well-received release came in August of this year, titled, So Long Little Miss Sunshine. Closing out Saturday, over on the River stage, we took in the final performance of the day from indie rocker, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, with the backing band named after the February 2025 album by the same name and leans into polished, goth-tinged aesthetics.
British Singer-songwriter Richard Thompson co-founded the seminal band Fairport Convention in 1976, helping pioneer British folk rock, and has recorded 18 studio albums, brought his solo acoustic set to XPNfest on the Marina stage. He's been called "the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix" by the Los Angeles Times. In 2011, Thompson received an Order of the British Empire personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. Next on the River stage, we took in a set from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist/bajo player, Molly Tuttle with her band, who performed at Annapolis Baygrass Festival on Sunday. Always a site to see, Tuttle dazzled the crowd with technical skill and redefines what bluegrass can be - technically brilliant, emotionally resonant, and endlessly inventive. Her latest, well-received release came in August of this year, titled, So Long Little Miss Sunshine. Closing out Saturday, over on the River stage, we took in the final performance of the day from indie rocker, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, with the backing band named after the February 2025 album by the same name and leans into polished, goth-tinged aesthetics.
The final day of XPNfest kicked off with Emily Drinker on the Marina stage backed by local Philly band, The Funky T, playing her original songs laced with her live vocal looping, funk-soul-pop jams, and included tunes from her latest album, To Feel Alive, released on April 4th. And just like a Philly girl, Drinker gave the crowd an Eagles chant. Just after 1pm on the River Stage, rising Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter, Zinadelphia performed with a three-piece band with a lush display of her silky-soul, dreamy disco vibes for afternoon festival goers. After her second song, Zina also gave a quiet nod to the Eagles playing Sunday afternoon with a 'Go Birds'. Later in her set, we were treated to San Francisco sounds from the Jefferson Airplane with her rendition of 'Somebody to Love'. Zinadelphia is set to perform at this year's Austin City Limits.
Indie rock project, Michigander (aka Jason Singer), came out rocking the Marina stage just before 2pm, oozing emo vibes as a four-piece, as more of the crowd filled in for day three of the festival. After releasing several acclaimed EPs from 2018-2024, Michigander released his self-titled debut album this past February. Back on the River stage, we were surprised by a short 'tweener' set from UK's singer-songwriter, Jade Bird, solo with her white guitar performing her originals and covered Johnny Cash's 'I've been Everywhere', before closing off with her hit, 'I Get Not Joy'. Next up, was jamband vets, Spin Doctors, performing tunes off their latest 2025 release, Face Full of Cake. The band also dipped back and included tunes from their first album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, like ' 'Jimmy Olsen's Blues' which brought on a call-and-response with the crowd joining lead singer Chris Baron, followed up by 'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong', and then by Prince's hit, 'Purple Rain', also joined at the coda by the crowd in unison. Last, but certainly not least, the band then closed out their set with their hit 90s tune, 'Two Princes'.
Nashville's cosmic country jammer, Daniel Donato took the Marina stage at 4pm and came out at full speed, after spending a full weekend in the area on Thursday thru Saturday nights at Ardmore Music Hall for a 3-night run. Here at XPNfest we found him jamming out his own blend of psychedelic country-style jams, like 'Sunshine in the Rain' and 'Blame the Train' off his recent 15-track release, Horizons. Sticking with the Sunday jam theme, we then joined Kalamazoo's Greensky Bluegrass over on the River stage, with of course another 'Go Birds' to start, for their unique take on improvisational bluegrass jams. The band is currently on the road and also performed at Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival on Saturday night where they performed two sets, before heading to Philadelphia on Sunday. They'll perform next at Harrisburg's XL Live on October 2nd and continue on their US tour into November.
Our last trip over to the Marina stage was to see Craig Finn, of The Hold Steady, delivering his solo work of storytelling to the crowd and performing songs off his latest release from April of this year, Always Been, joined by special guest, War on Drugs keyboardist, Robbie Bennet. And yes...Finn also gave a nod to the Eagles' win on Sunday! Finally, returning to XPNfest after 10 years, Australian rocker Courtney Barnett closed out the festival performing her grungy originals from her albums on her left-handed, modified, Fender Jaguar, including the hits, 'Avant Gardener', 'Pedestrian at Best', and the older rocker, 'History Eraser', no Eagles chant. With a new album in the works to be finished by the end of the year, Barnett recently collaborated on the Neil Young tribute album released in April titled, Heart of Gold, performing Lotta Love.
Indie rock project, Michigander (aka Jason Singer), came out rocking the Marina stage just before 2pm, oozing emo vibes as a four-piece, as more of the crowd filled in for day three of the festival. After releasing several acclaimed EPs from 2018-2024, Michigander released his self-titled debut album this past February. Back on the River stage, we were surprised by a short 'tweener' set from UK's singer-songwriter, Jade Bird, solo with her white guitar performing her originals and covered Johnny Cash's 'I've been Everywhere', before closing off with her hit, 'I Get Not Joy'. Next up, was jamband vets, Spin Doctors, performing tunes off their latest 2025 release, Face Full of Cake. The band also dipped back and included tunes from their first album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, like ' 'Jimmy Olsen's Blues' which brought on a call-and-response with the crowd joining lead singer Chris Baron, followed up by 'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong', and then by Prince's hit, 'Purple Rain', also joined at the coda by the crowd in unison. Last, but certainly not least, the band then closed out their set with their hit 90s tune, 'Two Princes'.
Nashville's cosmic country jammer, Daniel Donato took the Marina stage at 4pm and came out at full speed, after spending a full weekend in the area on Thursday thru Saturday nights at Ardmore Music Hall for a 3-night run. Here at XPNfest we found him jamming out his own blend of psychedelic country-style jams, like 'Sunshine in the Rain' and 'Blame the Train' off his recent 15-track release, Horizons. Sticking with the Sunday jam theme, we then joined Kalamazoo's Greensky Bluegrass over on the River stage, with of course another 'Go Birds' to start, for their unique take on improvisational bluegrass jams. The band is currently on the road and also performed at Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival on Saturday night where they performed two sets, before heading to Philadelphia on Sunday. They'll perform next at Harrisburg's XL Live on October 2nd and continue on their US tour into November.
Our last trip over to the Marina stage was to see Craig Finn, of The Hold Steady, delivering his solo work of storytelling to the crowd and performing songs off his latest release from April of this year, Always Been, joined by special guest, War on Drugs keyboardist, Robbie Bennet. And yes...Finn also gave a nod to the Eagles' win on Sunday! Finally, returning to XPNfest after 10 years, Australian rocker Courtney Barnett closed out the festival performing her grungy originals from her albums on her left-handed, modified, Fender Jaguar, including the hits, 'Avant Gardener', 'Pedestrian at Best', and the older rocker, 'History Eraser', no Eagles chant. With a new album in the works to be finished by the end of the year, Barnett recently collaborated on the Neil Young tribute album released in April titled, Heart of Gold, performing Lotta Love.
