The new Live at the World Cafe Vol 31 CD is hot off the press and available as a thank you gift to XPN members. Here's the track list. One of the best yet! Make your pledge now, and pick it up as an XPN thank you gift!

Various Artists
Live at the World Cafe, Volume 34
(World Cafe)

World Cafe with David Dye have just released the newest volume in its incredible series of live recordings from XPN's signature program, World Cafe. Artists include With exclusive live tracks from Alabama Shakes, The Lumineers, Polica, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. Dog and more, this is one, stellar collection of unique live tracks.

In this installment of the Latin Roots series, Raul Pacheco from the Grammy award-winning Latin band Ozomatli talks with WXPN’s David Dye about how politics influence music. Pacheco knows a lot about this topic, as Ozomatli have been a politically-driven band from their inception.

Iconic folk-rock songstress Melissa Etheridge grew up in Leavenworth, Kansas. Etheridge has been making music since she first picked up a guitar at eight years-old and played in country groups throughout her teens in her home state of Kansas. Winner of two Grammy Awards for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female and an Academy Award for her song “I Need to Wake Up” from the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

Sometimes known as the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Antibalas is exactly that: a large group of talented musicians playing rhythmic Afrobeat in perfect synchronous harmony. The New York-based band has come a long way from its Harlem roots but has never forgotten them.

Influential singer/songwriter Paul Simon’s 1986 Grammy award-winning album Graceland is one of the few records from that decade that made history.

September, 2012 CD of the Month

It won’t take long as you listen to Is Your Love Big Enough? to draw the conclusion that Lianne La Havas is a special voice. Her enchanting vocals certainly act as the centerpiece to this lovely debut. Yet as you unfold the songs on this album, it becomes clear that you’re not listening to a one-dimensional artist but someone who can sing and play across a wide musical spectrum.

With exclusive live tracks from Alabama Shakes, The Lumineers, Polica, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. Dog and more, it is the best Live At the World Cafe CD yet. Here's the track list.

Live At The World Cafe, Volume 34 Track List

You could call this a side project, an indie-rock super-group or simply a musical experiment, but really Divine Fits stands better as the result of mutual admiration. Spoon frontman Britt Daniel and Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner shared a love for each other’s music, and once Wolf Parade called it quits the idea of starting a band together quickly became a reality. They recruited drummer/percussionist Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks) and started work on their debut album, cleverly titled A Thing Called Divine Fits.

Featured Album of the Week, 8/20/2012 | CD of the Month , 2012

One thing that’s for sure is that Delta Rae does not lack ambition or appeal on their album Carry the Fire. And simply stated these kids can flat-out sing. The six-piece band, featuring four vocalists, is from North Carolina and they pounce onto the music scene with a collection of songs rooted in their southern upbringing and gospel inspired vocal blend. Carry the Fire is a lively attempt at Americana flavored with plenty of pop sensibility.