PHILADELPHIA (JANUARY 10, 2023): Music lovers across the U.S. can hear some of Chicago’s renowned and up-and-coming artists, and learn about its illustrious music history and current scene, when it is featured in the World Cafe “Sense of Place” series from January 18 through February 3. World Cafe is the NPR-distributed daily music and interview program heard on 280 radio stations nationwide. 

For its “Sense of Place” series, the World Cafe team (based at WXPN/Philadelphia, which produces World Cafe) visits musical hotspots around the globe to capture each city’s sights and sounds, and records exclusive studio sessions with local musicians and interviews with musical influencers. The resulting “Sense of Place” feature is heard on World Cafe and online, with past sessions archived at World Cafe on NPR Music.

Content that will be heard during the Chicago “Sense of Place” series was recorded in the city during an October 2022 visit by World Cafe Host Raina Douris, Contributing Host Kallao, Senior Producer Kimberly Junod, Producer Miguel Perez and Line Producer Will Loftus. Encore presentations of World Cafe featuring Chicago artists will also be heard. Here’s the “Sense of Place” Chicago series schedule:

Weds. Jan. 18:  Chicago interview and performance from October 2022

Thurs. Jan. 19: Liz Phair interview and performance from May 2020

Fri. Jan. 20:  Interview with producer Steve Albini; interview with Martin Atkins of The Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music

Mon. Jan. 23: Interview and performance by Latinx quintet Dos Santos

Tues. Jan. 24: Billy Corgan interview and performance from December 2020

Weds. Jan. 25: Interview and performance by talked-about new artist KAINA; Dehd performance from July 2022

Thurs. Jan. 26: Contributor John Morrison looks back on the career of Curtis Mayfield; Mavis Staples interview and performance from February 2019

Fri. Jan. 27: Interview with rapper Pinqy Ring; interview with Eli Schmitt of Chicago’s New Now web series

Mon. Jan. 30: Tour of Chicago Music Exchange record store; soul music guest DJ set by Ayana Contreras, Vocalo Music Director/Director of Content

Tues. Jan. 31: Wilco interview and performance from August 2022

Weds. Feb. 1: Interview and performance by jazz drummer and band leader Makaya McCraven

Thurs. Feb. 2: Buddy Guy interview and performance from August 2013

Fri. Feb. 3: The story of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, known as the birthplace of gospel music; “Quintessential Chicago Albums” with Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot of the Sound Opinion music podcast

 Listen online here. More about World Cafe can also be found here

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About World Cafe

Launched in 1991, World Cafe is produced by WXPN/Philadelphia and distributed by NPR to 280 US radio stations, where it is heard by nearly 600,000 listeners each week. Known by artists, appreciative audiences, and the radio and music industries as an influential source for music discovery, the two-hour daily program features a mix of artist interviews and in-studio performances by established and emerging artists, with a music selection that encompasses singer-songwriters, classic rock, indie rock, Americana, alt-country, blues, world music, R&B and soul. As the nation’s most listened-to public radio music program, the award-winning program’s impact on the careers and audience awareness of thousands of artists is immeasurable. World Cafe is hosted by Raina Douris along with contributing host Stephen Kallao.