Late in 2024, we organized our first-ever WXPN Homegrown Live concert — a free showcase of Philadelphia talent performing onstage in The Lounge at World Cafe Live. The lineup was made up of three finalists from the WXPN 24 Hour Song Challenge, and to kick off 2025, we’re bringing you video of each of those performances.
We begin this week with a captivating set by Mackenzie Johnson, an acoustic artist who captured our attention during the Song Challenge with her song “Sunburn.” The contemplative song played on the contest theme of “summer” by setting the scene at the season’s end, when its effects are still right there on your shoulders. You could hear a pin drop when Johnson played it for the World Cafe Live crowd.
As we saw over the course of her performance, there’s lots more equally compelling material in this rising local songwriter’s catalog. Her latest single “Fever Dream” opened the set on a high, calling to mind Taylor Swift as much as Brandi Carlile; “The Sisterhood” played on witching hour themes that felt just perfect on the fall night we were taping; and for a cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams,” Johnson was joined fellow Song Challenge finalist — and in a delightful coincidence, one of her lifelong best friends (our had no idea until they posted this video) — Blue from Best Bear.
Watch Johnson’s full performance above, check out photos from the set below, and if you’re in the New York area next week, make plans to see her live at the East Village venue Berlin with Blair Lamb and Jackie Evans on Tuesday, January 14th; tickets are available here.