Brittany Ann Tranbaugh’s sunny folk opens up day three of XPNFest

Opening Sunday’s lineup at the XPoNential Music Festival was Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter and folk musician, Brittany Ann Tranbaugh. She and her BAT band kicked off the music-filled day on the Marina Stage underneath an incredibly sunny (and thankfully rain-free) sky. The award-winning musician, who released her single “Bushwick” in March of this year, began her vibrant set playing to a warm and happy crowd on the Camden Waterfront.

Tranbaugh stepped on stage with an ecstatic energy about her and opened with the 2023 release, “We Could Be Comets.” She created an element of community throughout the energized crowd while laughing and exchanging smiles with bandmates. She continued by performing her well-loved song “Quarter Life Crisis Haircut” from her 2022 EP of the same name, as well as “Kiss You” from the same project. Backed by Joe Plowman on bass, Rob Tait on drums, Shona Carr on guitar, and Liz Faure on pedal steel, Tranbaugh’s songs took on a new life with fervent playing and sunny vocal harmonies. She introduced her recent 2024 release, “For Caroline,” as a heartfelt but “dark lullaby” that she co-wrote with her friend, singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton, and dedicated to her five-year-old niece. To close the joyous set, she sang “So What if I’m Not (Conventionally Attractive),” a humorously poignant song.

Tranbaugh has had a busy week, beginning with her feature on a new single released this past Friday with, bandmate, Joe Plowman, called “Nobody’s Gonna Go for That,” following their 2023 collaboration, “By Your Rules.” The rest of this year looks to be quite exciting for the folk singer as well, starting with a performance in Charlottesville later this week. To start off the month of October, she will be opening for The Lone Bellow at World Cafe Live, and will also be opening for Olivia Barton on her solo headline tour. Additionally, she will be opening Blanton in November. If you can not make any of these shows, be sure to catch her alongside Joe Plowman at the Gatehouse at The Navy Yard in Philadelphia, on November 20th. Stay tuned for more coverage of the XPoNential Music Festival on the website and the radio.