A New Philly Love

I fell a little more in love with Philadelphia this weekend. Here is my love story...

When I lived in North Dakota, the local public radio station was the saving grace of music for me. I was never a fan of pop music of my generation so I was drawn to the singer/songwriters found on the public radio. Even better was the program World Cafe. David Dye would host and always have new, at least in my ears, artists doing live versions of their music.

It was on World Cafe where I first heard Patty Griffin, David Gray, and Dar Williams. Now, they are all part of my favorite musicians list. The other day, I was driving and listening to my new favorite public radio station WXPN.org and I heard David Dye's voice, but it wasn't time for World Cafe. He was hosting the top 885 albums of all time countdown that was happening on WXPN. I did a little research and found out that World Cafe is recorded in Philadelphia at the WXPN studios. This didn't really excite me except with further research, I realized that there was a live music venue called Live at the World Cafe. Dinner and drinks are served as you listen to a variety of musicians. This was going to be perfect.

I wanted to find something interesting to do in Philadelphia that included live music when Sara and Scott were visiting because I knew Scott enjoyed concerts. It was so close to one of the larger train stations, the admission was free, food was good, and the music was great. We heard Justin Jones. He had a nice mix of folk/rock/bluegrass and I always have a soft spot for the banjo.

Part of this love story has to do with familiarity, the past, and the future. I am familiar with World Cafe. I am familiar with how to get to World Cafe Live now. I have loved World Cafe in the past. And finally, I will bring friends to World Cafe Live in the future. It is my new favorite Philly adventure.