Celebrate Juneteenth on WXPN with The Sounds of Blackness hosted by Rahman Wortman, plus a Black Music City livestream

As Juneteenth approaches, along with its new status as a federal holiday, here at XPN we’ll broadcast two specials in observation of the occasion, one on the air on one online.

Beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday June 19th, XPN presents The Sounds of Blackness hosted by our very own Rahman Wortman. The four-hour show covers the breadth and depth of Black music and Black culture, showcasing songs by Sade and Stevie Wonder to Solange and Soul II Soul. From rock to reggae, doo-wop to hip-hop, you’ll hear a vast expanse of sounds, styles, and emotions on your radio dial. Listen at 88.5 FM in the Philadelphia region or stream the show online at XPN.org.

As the show winds down, flip over to Facebook, where you can watch the closing ceremony for Black Music City, the collaboration between WXPN, WRTI and REC Philly celebrating the history and future of Black music in Philadelphia. Projects by 23 grantees will be presented, along with live performances by Zeek Burse, CrisTene, and Josh Lee. The event is being produced virtually from REC Philly starting at 12:30 p.m. ET, and can be streamed on Facebook. Explore some highlights from the Black Music City program here, and see performances by grant winners through July 1st at Dilworth Park.

For more on Juneteenth, explore a guide put together by our John Morrison last year linking to documentaries, online resources and more about the annual celebration commemorating the day that the last enslaved Americans in Texas learned they were free.