The Scoop on The 2012 XPoNential Music Festival from Roger LaMay
This weekend, nearly 20,000 people will converge upon Wiggins Park on the Camden waterfront for the 19th annual installment of the XPoNential Music Festival. This year’s line-up features national touring acts (including several from Philadelphia), seasoned heritage acts, and up-and-coming acts from around the region. And, thanks to a new partnership with Susquehanna Bank Center (SBC), adjacent to Wiggins Park, festival goers will get to enjoy headliners that would likely have otherwise been out of reach for WXPN, who produces the festival.
The majority of the booking for this year’s festival was completed earlier than in past years. WXPN General Manager Roger LaMay attributes this to several concurrent factors.
RL: “It has seemed like the festival has grown in reputation every year, so we’re definitely having a lot more people come to us than in the past,” says LaMay. “Another factor is that one of the aspects of the partnership with Susquehanna Bank Center is that we have bigger headliners.”
Those headlining shows include a Saturday evening line-up that will feature Wilco, the Avett Brothers, and hometown heroes Dr. Dog. Sunday night’s acts will be split onto two stages, the smaller of which will host Kasey Anderson and the Honkies and We Are Augustines, who are both part of the second leg of the Outlaw Roadshow tour produced by Counting Crows and The RSL. Counting Crows themselves will grace the main stage that night, as well as Delta Spirit and Field Report. Lawn seat admission to both nights at SBC is included with the purchase of a 3-Day festival pass, and WXPN has also run upgrade promotions so that guests have the option of reserved seating at SBC.
While the experimental addition of the two evenings at SBC indicates the evolution and expansion of the XPoNential Music Festival, LaMay promises that the magic of what happens at Wiggins Park will remain intact.
RL: “Our goals were…we want to preserve the vibe and all the good things about the Wiggins Park experience, keep ticket prices low, and we wanted people to have access to major headliners,” says LaMay. “We’re feeling good about it and we’ll see how it goes.”
One aspect of the festival that attendees appreciate is that nothing overlaps; performances alternate between the River Stage, with its picturesque backdrop of the Philly skyline, and the smaller Marina Stage. The entire festival is broadcast on WXPN and is available, streaming, on their website. All Wiggins Park performances will be broadcast again this year, so those who are unable to travel to Philadelphia, or unwilling to brave the heat, can still tune in and hear what’s happening onstage – including a stellar schedule of music kicking off the weekend on Friday.
RL: “We think we have our best Friday night line-up ever,” says LaMay. “It’s all at Wiggins Park. Knowing that we had Saturday and Sunday night headliners, we concentrated a little more on Friday. [We think that] a band that’s kind of exploding, like the Lumineers, playing at 6:00 on Friday…encourages people to show up early.” When they booked the Lumineers, back at the beginning of the year, having them play early Friday evening on the smaller stage “didn’t seem like a big deal.” Now that they’re selling out small venues in the area well in advance of their shows, their appearance is likely to have a bigger draw at the festival.”
WXPN is a noncommercial, member-supported radio servce of the University of Pennsylvania. The XPoNential Music Festival features heavily discounted festival admission a members-only area within the festival grounds, offering cold drinks, shaded areas, wine tastings, and artist meet & greet.
RL: “One of the things we did this year,” explains LaMay, “is really differentiate more than we have in the past between member and nonmember ticket prices, so we think it will be more heavily member-attended than ever. More people are joining to get the member ticket price.”
This is great news for people who have come to know and love the XPoNential Music Festival and other XPN-produced live music events throughout the year. The more member support, the easier it is for the station to maintain the level of quality the music community – artists and fans alike – have come to rely on from them.
Festival tickets are still available through WXPN. See below for the full schedule.
Words by: JJ Sheffer
FRIDAY, July 20: Gates Open at 5 p.m.
River Stage
- WAR ON DRUGS (6:55-7:40 PM)
- DAWES (8:35-9:35 PM)
- THE HOLD STEADY (10:30-11:30 PM)
Jersey Arts.com Marina Stage
- CITY RAIN (5:30-6:05 PM)
- THE LUMINEERS (6:10-6:50 PM)
- JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND (7:45-8:30 PM)
- OZOMATLI (9:40-10:25 PM)
SATURDAY, July 21: Gates Open at 11:30 a.m.
River Stage
- GOOD OLD WAR (12:35-1:20 PM)
- MIKE DOUGHTY (2:10-2:55 PM)
- PATTERSON HOOD & THE DOWNTOWN RUMBLERS (3:45-4:40 PM)
- KATHLEEN EDWARDS (5:40-6:45 PM)
Jersey Arts.com Marina Stage
- MATT SANTRY (12-12:30 PM)
- DELTA RAE (1:25-2:05 PM)
- LOWER DENS (3-3:40 PM)
- LEE RANALDO BAND (4:45-5:30 PM)
Susquehanna Bank Center Main Stage
- DR. DOG (7:15-8 PM)
- THE AVETT BROTHERS (8:20-9:20 PM)
- WILCO (10-11:15 PM)
SUNDAY, July 22: Gates Open at 11:30 a.m.
River Stage
- WORK DRUGS (12:30-1:00 PM)
- DIEGO GARCIA (1:45-2:25 PM)
- JOHN WESLEY HARDING’S CABINET OF WONDERS (3:20-4:30 PM)
- RHETT MILLER & THE SERIAL LADY KILLERS (5:25-6:15 PM)
Jersey Arts.com Marina Stage
- DANA ALEXANDRA (12-12:30 PM)
- JD MCPHERSON (1:05-1:40 PM)
- KAKI KING (2:30-3:15 PM)
- JD SOUTHER (4:35-5:20 PM)
Susquehanna Bank Center Main Stage
- FIELD REPORT (5:30-6 PM)
- DELTA SPIRIT (6:30-7:20 PM)
- COUNTING CROWS (8:15-9:45 PM)
The Key Stage Presented by Glanzmann Subaru at the Susquehanna Bank Center
- KASEY ANDERSON (6-6:30 PM)
- WE ARE AUGUSTINES (7:20-8:00 PM)
