Hear concert live Friday at 12noon ET from WXPN and NPR Music
Broadcast live Fridays from the stage at World Cafe Live

Free at Noon Parking Alert

Due to area construction, the entrance to the Free at Noon parking garage has relocated to Chestnut and 32nd Street. Please also be aware that the flat rate for Free at Noon concert parking is now $7. Parking will be available beginning at 11 am and is valid until 2 pm. So when you're approaching the garage on Chestnut Street, keep your eye out for a volunteer with a WXPN sign and we'll take it from there!

British singer-songwriter Bobby Long has been writing his keenly-crafted songs since taking up the guitar at age 16. After relocating from his native Wessex, he became a fixture at open-mic nights around London while attending university there. Among his companions on the circuit were fellow musicians Marcus Foster and Robert Pattinson, the former with whom he co-wrote a song that the latter would sing in the popular tween movie "Twilight." Long's intensely personal songs resonate with audiences (not surprisingly, he credits Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith and Leonard Cohen as key influences), expanding his fan base exponentially during the massive six-month 2009 Dangerous Summer tour that comprised some 100 shows in cities across the U.S. and Canada.

Of his first recordings, the 10-song Dirty Pond Songs CD was recorded in his London bedroom and featured chart topping singles such as "Left to Lie." Eventually climbing to no.8 on the Folk charts, his initial efforts were met with great international success. And in 2010, Long took to the studio to put together his first studio album "A winter Tale," which was released at the start of February. Working with Grammy award winner Liam Watson, the album marks the beginnings of a promising career.

Lucky for us, he's playing a full show (at World Cafe Live on Friday night. Expect plenty of female swooning.

Website: http://www.bobby-long.co.uk/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong Recent Release: A Winter Tale
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Label: ATO Records
Origin: Calne, England