Presenting XPN Live and Local, an Instagram concert series with American Trappist, Commonwealth Choir, Rachel Andie, and Vita and the Woolf
UPDATE: The June 4th concert with American Trappist, Lizdelise, Lily McKown, and Getem is being postponed to early July. Stay tuned for the new date announcement. The first Live and Local concert will take place on June 11th with Commonwealth Choir and friends.
For the month of June, we’re excited to showcase some of the leading lights of our hometown music community in the XPN Live and Local livestreaming concert series.
Taking place every Thursday night at 6 p.m. EST on WXPN’s Instagram Live, the series will present four lineups co-curated with a different featured artist each week. Kicking off on June 4th, American Trappist will lead the show, followed by Commonwealth Choir on June 11th, Rachel Andie on June 18th, and Vita and the Woolf on June 25th. In addition to showcasing their own music, each artist has chosen a handful of hometown guests to share the spotlight with them. Read more about each week’s show down below.
American Trappist is the project of New Jersey singer-songwriter and producer Joe Michelini. He’s an Asbury Park native, and you can absolutely hear the influence of his famous neighbor Bruce Springsteen in some of his more anthemic writing. But American Trappist’s music is just as likely to line up with the existential drama of Arcade Fire, and the freewheeling noise of Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo. Their new album The Gate released earlier this month, and they will be joined on XPN Live and Local on June 6th at 6 p.m. EST by experimental indie rocker Lizdelize, beatmaker and charismatic singer Getem, and folk singer-songwriter Lily McKown.
Commonwealth Choir has been a favorite of ours here at The Key since they burst out of the fertile indie rock community of Doylestown in 2013 with their Shirtless EP. With a knack for hooks, charisma, and a killer live show, they’ve been an ever-present force on the scene, rocking stages from The Foundry at the Fillmore Philly to the XPoNential Music Festival. The band is getting ready to release their latest project, No End, due out this summer on Know Hope Records. They will be joined on XPN Live and Local on June 11th at 6 p.m. EST by garage rock force of nature Kelsey Cork and The Swigs, stylish glam-infused rocker Barney Cortez, and and theatrical rocker Archpalatine.
Rachel Andie captured the local music scene’s attention a few years back with “Waves,” an elegant and ethereal folk-pop song in the spirit of The Sundays, Damien Rice, and Death Cab for Cutie. It was just a small taste of what this multifaceted and stridently independent Philly artist is capable of; her album Tu Me Manques is a riveting emotional journey written from the very personal perspective of someone who has been on their own since they were a teenager. Whether its songs are performed with Andie’s exceptional band The Vth Element, or solo and intimate, Andie’s music will make you feel. She will be joined on XPN Live and Local on June 18th at 6 p.m. EST by psychedelic folk band Rosemeat, introspective rocker Kirby Sybert, and dynamic R&B/jazz singer-songwriter Suzanne Sheer.
Vita and the Woolf songwriter and band leader Jen Pague might call California home these days, but there’s no denying the impact that Philadelphia ‘screative community had on shaping this dynamic soul-pop modern rock band — and the amount that Pague continues to works with Philly collaborators and bandmates across the continent. Her second full-legth Anna Ohio will be released this August by Portland label Tender Loving Empire — spoiler alert: it’s fantastic — and for her appearance on XPN’s Live and Local on June 25th, Pague will reconnect with a bunch of Philly friends, including singer-songwriter Sophie Coran.