WHYY Connections Fest Hits Penns Landing This Weekend!
Last year WHYY decided to get in the festival game and presented an awesome weekend of the arts, which included one day that was filled with great Philly music and national touring acts like: Justin Townes Earl and Dr Dog (who are also a Philly band). The Great Plaza at Penns Landing was about half filled early that afternoon last September. But as the day rolled on, you couldn’t even move or find a spot to see the stage in the stands. The crowd was super packed and everyone was treated to a awesomely fun, FREE show with some of the best live music around. This year’s WHYY Connections Festival is expected to be even better with a superb lineup, more family and kid activities, awesome incentives and privileges for WHYY members, and 4 days of awesome!
Today, Friday, the WHYY festivities take place at the new Race St Pier with a free set from Andrew Lipke from 7-9PM. Saturday activities start at the Great Plaza at Penns Landing at 12PM with tons of things for the kiddies. Then from 1PM -3PM there’s a members only conference with the guys from one of my favorite NPR programs, Sound Opinions which also includes a Makers Mark Reception. The music on the main stage starts at 4PM and goes till 10PM.
Dr. Dog @ WHYY Connections 2011
Last year, Philly’s Dr. Dog were the headliners and it was a wild show, lots of energy and dancing. Saturday, we’re really excited to see Maps & Atlases, they have die hard fans and their shows are always a blast. The amazing Yo La Tengo, who are Hoboken natives and will be headlining this year and they put on a awesome live show. Frank Turner also has die hard fans and will be sandwiched in between playing just after Maps & Atlases.
TSI is excited to be on location again this year, but with our lounge setup! So stay tuned for tons of photos, written coverage and video interviews with bands form WHYY Connection Fest!
Full Lineup
The Lawsuits
Fabian Akilles
(First Person Arts’ Storytelling with Martha Cooney)
Maps & Atlases
Frank Turner
Yo La Tengo
Kuf Knotz @ WHYY Connections 2011
Official Press Release:
WHYY AND DELAWARE RIVER WATERFRONT CORPORATION ANNOUNCE PERFORMERS FOR 2012 WHYY CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL
Four Day Festival Features FREE Concerts, Film Screenings, Visual Art Presentations,
Kids Events and More
WHYY and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) are pleased to announce the headlining performers and initial program schedule for the 2012 WHYY Connections Festival. This exciting festival, which attracted a crowd of more than 12,000 attendees in 2011, has grown to include four days of programming, numerous events and two concerts.
The first Connections Festival concert will feature performances by Yo La Tengo, Frank Turner, Maps & Atlases and more on Saturday, September 8. The second concert will feature performances by Fred Parris and the Five Satins, Charlie Gracie, The Del Satins and more as the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service Education Center and WHYY present the Philadelphia Doo-Wop Festival on Sunday, September 9. These two exciting concerts will both take place on the RiverStage at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing (Columbus Boulevard at Chestnut Street, Philadelphia).
Preceeding the two concert events will be a Connections Festival kick-off event on Thursday, September 6. Developed as part of WHYY’s Newsworks.org Creative Connectors project, this event will take place at WHYY’s Philadelphia studios (150 N. Sixth Street) and will feature performances featuring or inspired by the 76 arts leaders who were named to the Creative Connectors list.
On Friday, September 7, WHYY will preview the September episode of its Emmy Award-winning program Friday Arts at the Race Street Pier (Columbus Blvd & Race St.) before inviting guests to a screening of the station’s latest national TV documentary, The Barnes Collection at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing (Columbus Blvd between Market St. & Walnut St).
WHYY and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) are the lead partners on these special events, all of which will be FREE and open to the public. WHYY members will have access to exclusive VIP areas, and opportunities to meet the artists throughout the festival.
Additional partners for the WHYY Connections Festival include Live Nation, the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service Education Center, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and First Person Arts.
For regular updates on the WHYY Connections Festival, visit WHYY.org/ConnectionsFestival or follow the festival’s social media pages – on Facebook atFacebook.com/ConnectionsFestival and on Twitter at @WHYYConnectionsFest
