Root Down in the Shadow

The view for most fans in the PACKED Main Street Music   With the help from a friend, here's a shoulder view of the In-Store session of Dawes  Los Angeles band Dawes has a love affair with Philadelphia's WXPN and Main Street Music . This summer they are attempting their 4th appearance at XPoNential Festival , after releasing ALL YOUR FAVORITE BANDS . In the meantime, a trip back to Main Street Music was in order, to get fans ready for the new album. The band played 6 favorites in the store, but peaked out of the store onto the steps to play for the dedicated fans that didn't get into the event. Here's most (sorry I missed a few seconds) of "How Far We've Come". Mainstreetmusicpa.com/ Pledgemusic.com/projects/dawes Dawestheband.com/tour/  www.Xpnfest.org/ Dawes "How Far We've Come" Live at Main Street Music In-Store Session #SuperFans #ShareMoment with Caitlin Phillips of Pancakes and Whiskey #Best...

Across the globe, music festivals are getting larger and larger with dozens of bands gracing multiple stages.  One festival, XPoNential Festival , bucks this trend and still has only two stages at a time with a major effort taken to prevent overlapping live music.  A favorite for many, this festival comes together each year with such great bands and such few issues.  If you're wondering what their secrets are, now's your time to find out.  Root Down In The Shadow recently had the opportunity to connect with Paul Severin - Events Producer for WXPN to get all of our questions answered, finding out what goes into planning XPoNential Festival [FOR LINEUP & TICKETS - Click over to XPN.ORG ] What is it about an artist that catches your attention or makes them a good fit for the festival? Just like what we decide to play on WXPN, first and foremost we simply think about what our listeners will connect with the most musically as simple as that may sound. W...

Finally, the 2013 XPoNential Festival is here! Arguably the best weekend of live music Philly has to offer, you need to be prepared. Rather than the typical blog post where one source tells you who to like for an upcoming fest, we at Root Down in the Shadow are going to take a different approach to giving you a listening guide to the artists at the upcoming fest.  I've asked my contributors and some of the festival artists for their views on who to see. Here's the results:  Aaron Brown of Aaron & the Spell (Wiggins Park- Friday 5:30)   Another band i'd like to see on the day I play : I'm actually pretty excited to see Michael Kiwanuka .  It's not because, he plays right after [Aaron & The Spell].  I saw him when he played at the Trocadero in the winter and I enjoyed the show.  I've been listening to Home Again , and really dig the title track Another band i'd like to see on Saturday or Sunday :  Wilco ! They play on Sunday and ...

XPN & Dawes continue to share memorable shows.  From the XPN 20th anniversary concert, to the 2012 XPoNential Festival, each event gets better and better for both entities.  Friday's Free At Noon,  which was 10000% at capacity was the fittingly the first live webcast for WXPN! Playing in support of their Stories Don't End album, which is due to be released April 9th, 2013, they played 7 of the 12 songs, including the already hit 'From A Window Seat'.  The songs and band were very fresh. It was one of the few times these songs had been heard, only after a bunch of SXSW events and a few in-store sessions in Dallas, Nashville, and Baltimore. The new songs are impressive, as 'Someone Will', 'Hey Lover' and 'From A Window Seat' will fit right in with their other hits.  The guitar solos continue, picking up where the 70's left off.  I'd sit and describe more of the set, but you can listen to it yourself here @ http://www.xpn.org/playe...

All things considered, XPoNential Festival 2012 Day 1 was incredible.  Last year , the festival was just not doable due to the insufferable heat.  I only made it to one band each day, seeing the fantastic Ted Leo & the Pharmacists and Hayes Carll !  This year there were major concerns again due to heat earlier in the month, then a terrible weather forecast calling for rain & thunderstorms!   No such issues actually became realized as there were incredible bands galore, cool temps, and the only precipitation never touched the ground due to the tremendous crowds! City Rain started it off on the JerseyArts.com Marina Stage.  The Philly band did a great job getting the crowds amped up.  "Watch Out' from the Watch Out EP was great live, as was the rest of the material, which to be honest was not what I expected!  Kudos City Rain ! David Dye did the introductions for the next band, thrilled that the current #1 independent band was gracing t...

Belle Brigade - Blitzen Trapper - Dawes The show started off with Belle Brigade . Admittedly I hadn't done much prep on this band as I have had a weird hang-up on openers recently, which I need to quickly overcome as I have missed sets by Lissie and Bobby . The band played an impressive and inspiring show.  During the show, I quickly looked up that they are ordinarily a Sister-Brother duo, in this case +4.  Belle Brigade concluded with their groundswell hit "Losers". 'Losers' by Belle Brigade Blitzen Trapper the fivesome from Portland came out next.  They've hit the road supporting their latest album American Goldwing , which released September 13th. To me, the album was a complete game changer. I had come on late to the Blitzen Trapper party after picking up 'Black River Killer' as a download somewhere along the way, a few years back.  Long story short, the Black River Killer EP and Destroyer of the Void just don't quite roc...