24 Hour Song Challenge winner Khalil Amaru makes a breathtaking debut at XPNFest

This summer, the Michigan-born Philly-based singer-songwriter Khalil Amaru captured our attention and our hearts with “Dear June,” a moving song written in a single day for the WXPN 24 Hour Song Challenge. He won the grand prize, which included an opportunity to play the song live at the XPoNential Music Festival, and as we got to know him, we learned he not only had a new EP on the way — Love Pains, released last month — but an expansive live band. So Amaru’s XPNFest pop-up expanded into a short XPNFest set that started off day two.

A trio of backing vocalists joined his guitar-bass-drums-keys ensemble, with Amaru at the front of the stage, beaming at the microphone, introducing himself with the songs “Breathe” — which glided to a suave pulse as rock guitar soloing mixed with striking, sublime R&B moods from the singers. “I’ll Be Yours” brought the energy up a notch and then we arrived at “Dear June,” which has transformed from its original version. Originally heard as a meditative piano number written and recorded in 24 hours, the song is now full of full band energy, uplifting and euphoric.

Amaru also gave time to give appreciation to WXPN for its support of up-and-coming artists. “I want to dedicate this to the entire team for what you’ve done for my career.”

See more photos from his set, listen back to the performance above, and stay tuned for more coverage of XPNFest Day Two!