The Philly Local Home for the Holidays recording session | Photo by Helen Leicht for WXPN
Celebrate the season with Helen Leicht’s Home for the Holidays on XPN
This Tuesday, Helen Leicht will air her seventh annual Home for the Holidays special during the XPN Local show. Recorded live in the WXPN studios a couple weeks back, it’s a festive hour of holiday tunes both modern and classic.
Be listening for Ben Kessler‘s acoustic rendition of “Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon, as well as a Fleet Foxes song I never would have heard as a Christmas tune but it totally works (guess which one); Hemming delivers an aching and emotive spin on “All I Want for Christmas is You” (yep, the uber-poppy Mariah Carey song); RoseMary Fiki alternates between the joy of Donnie Hathaway and the serenity of “O Holy Night”; Andrew Lipke sings of those famous roasting chestnuts, Dana Alexandra sings of a silent night, both backed by violinist Helena Alalita; and we also hear from Musicians on Call volunteer Jason Reed and the soulful BlaqMel, who collaborated with Kuf Knotz at Leicht’s Philadelphia Folk Fest showcase.
The special airs on Tuesday, December 22nd at 8 p.m. and rebroadcasts on Christmas Eve at 10 a.m. during Robert Drake’s 24-hour The Night Before. Tune in at 88.5 FM in Philadelphia or XPN.org worldwide.