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XPoNential 2026 Recap
Another year, another absolutely stellar showing from the XPoNential Music Festival! As always, I went in unfamiliar with most of the acts and came out with a few new favorites.
This year's fest kicked off on Friday afternoon with great sets from local band Te Vista and Daniel Villareal before festival favorite Devon Gilfillian took the stage. Next up was an all-instrumental set from Budos Band, who looked like a bunch of Gen X dads from Staten Island whose garage band blew up. Great set and a great horn section, but I think the bassist was particularly phenomenal. Exceptional rhythm sections would end up being a pretty consistent theme throughout the weekend.
Friday's headliners were Cyril Neville and Dawes. Neville's set was pretty cool in that he was playing almost all Grateful Dead songs (and one Steve Miller song). Anytime you get a chance to hear "Scarlet Begonias" into "Fire on the Mountain" performed by talented musicians is a treat. Dawes capped off the night with their sixth XPoNential appearance. This was my 4th time seeing them, and they put on a great show, ending their set by letting the crowd sing "and may all your favorite bands stay together."
As has been the case for the past couple of years, the winners of WXPN's 24 Hour Songwriting Contest got to open the River Stage on Saturday with a short set. This year's winners, the Flying Vees, were one of the groups I was already familiar with having seen them perform one of my new favorite songs at Don McCloskey's annual holiday concert last winter. Their set kicked off with "Worry Bird," an acapella song that has been in regular rotation here at the Nerdery HQ all week. Every song they played was fantastic, but it was a new song that I am guessing is called "Monsters" that was so hauntingly good it made me cry.
While all of the sets were great on Saturday, two in particular blew me away later that night. First, St. Paul & the Broken Bones. Any band with a tight horn section is going to catch my attention and I had heard a song or two of theirs before, but the albums do not do them justice. This band performed the hell out of their songs and showed off their finesse while doing so. A highlight came during the song "Sanctify" when the lead singer came out to the crowd, climbed a ladder, and belted the lyrics from just a few feet away.
Portugal. The Man were the headliners for Saturday. As the set began, I mentioned that I knew of them but couldn't pinpoint which song of theirs I knew (although I've been rocking out to their cover of "Steal My Sunshine" all summer). I was not prepared for the experience I was about to have at all. This band absolutely killed it. Usually at this fest, I'll watch a song or two up close and then head back to my lawn chair to enjoy the rest of the set. PTM (and the Flying Vees) kept me on my feet the entire time. I particularly enjoyed the opening of their set with tracks from their latest album and "So American" from an earlier album. They capped off their set by highlighting their work raising funds and awareness for DHDDS and indigenous stewardship of our lands before inviting every kid in the audience to get on stage and dance as they closed with their 2017 hit "Feel It Still."
Sunday saw summer leave the Delaware Valley and autumn make an entrance with a rainy, cool day. Luckily, there would be no rain delays or missed sets as the weather seemingly went out of its way to cooperate with our concert experience. Every single artist that took the stage on Sunday exceeded expectations. Some highlights for me were discovering new acts like Fat Mezz, Sierra Hull, Ratboys, and Tyler Ballgame and enjoying familiar acts like Rebirth Brass Band, Langhorne Slim, and Madison Cunningham. I also, embarrassingly, only learned on this day that Langhorne Slim is from Langhorne.
Sunday's headliners were Little Feat who, with a stretch of 31 years, set a new record of the longest time between my first time and most recent time seeing a band. The previous record was 29 years, which was also held by Little Feat and the Spin Doctors. Their set was as tight as always, and they sent everyone home happy with "Dixie Chicken."
Check out the September Vibes playlist to hear some of my favorite tunes from this year's festival alongside some other great fall songs. And don't miss the 2027 XPoNential Music Festival!