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XPoNential Music Festival
The 2026 XPoNential Music Festival is right around the corner, and I cannot wait! I have been to 15 or 16 of these festivals over the years, and they always deliver. Most of the time, I go into the festival being somewhat familiar with a few of the bands and come out with new favorites every year. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing some of my favorite XPoNential moments from years past in the lead up to this year's show.
2016 - Felice Brothers Lose Power, Father John Misty Loses It
I will admit that, going into that year's fest, I wasn't familiar with the Felice Brothers. I will also admit, while absolutely loving this moment, I didn't get into them until years later. It only occurred to me this year that the first time I heard one of my favorite songs was at the 2015 festival when the power went out during the Felice Brothers' set. In what could have been a disaster moment, this amazing band pivoted and jumped into the crowd with their instruments leading an unplugged sing along. For the record, I was just a little to the right of whoever took this video.
Just one day earlier, I was in roughly the same spot for what I expected to be my festival highlight: a set from Father John Misty. This happened to fall the day after one of the incredibly unfortunate republican presidential debates, which ended up creating another unforgettable moment. Misty, clearly shaken by the direction the country was going, basically had a meltdown on stage. He went on a long rant about the republicans, war, and the state of the nation while dropping in and out of an improvised song and a Dylan cover before walking off stage. People were pretty pissed and, while I was bummed to miss the chance to hear "Chateau Lobby #4" live, I couldn't disagree with a single thing he said.
2015 - Kopecky Covers Tusk
I first discovered this group when they were the Kopecky Family Band. I was sitting on my couch and heard good music coming from the North Star Bar across the street and went over to enjoy their set and then have a beer with them at the bar. A couple of years later, I was excited to see them on the bill for XPoNential and they did not let me down. They closed their set with a cover of Fleetwood's Mac "Tusk." This cover ended with one of the band members dragging his trombone across his guitar strings before jumping into the crowd.
2018 - American Utopia
For a few years before the pandemic, WXPN would also run headline acts at the E Center after the main festival at Wiggins Park. I saw some pretty amazing acts during these headlining concerts, but the absolute highlight was my first time seeing David Byrne's American Utopia tour. Seeing David Byrne live is now my religion, and it all started here. I ended up seeing this tour in Philly and San Antonio in the months to follow, as well as the Broadway residency right before the world shut down in 2020. I don't have any video of this performance, but I cannot recommend enough that you stop what you're doing and watch Spike Lee's recording of the Broadway residency on HBO right now. Once you're done with that, check out clips of the Who Is The Sky tour on YouTube.
2023 - New Favorites
After the pandemic, the festival thankfully moved from July to September, which led to less heat exhaustion and the monumental occasion of me wearing pants to this event for the first time ever in 2023. Despite the chillier weather and the rain, I ended up finding two of my now favorite bands at this fest. This was my first exposure to both Sammy Rae & the Friends and Don McCloskey I've seen both of these bands a couple of times since and they always deliver.
This is just a small taste of some of the great performances I've enjoyed at XPoNential over the years, and I can't wait to see what this year brings!