2009

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Sting, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and the Best Music of 2009 Among the Highlights this Holiday Season on WXPN

PHILADELPHIA, PA - WXPN, the nationally-recognized leader in Triple A (Adult Album Alternative) music and noncommercial radio service of the University of Pennsylvania, today announced its programming highlights for the holiday season.

  • XPN Local Host Helen Leicht will host "Home for the Holidays," a special featuring classic holiday songs from local artists on Tuesday, December 22 at 9 p.m. The special was recorded at Morning Star Studios and features Mutlu, John Conahan, Lizanne Knott, Phil Roy, Brian Kenneth, Jen Creed, Matt Duke, Tin Bird Choir, Kuf Knotz, Chuck Staab, Ken Pendergrast, and Rachael Kennedy, and was produced by Grammy award-winning producer Glenn Barratt. Tune in to hear these local artists sing individually and as a mega-group.
  • World Cafe® will air an interview with Sting on Friday, December 25 from 12-2 p.m., featuring tracks from his new holiday album, If on a Winter's Night.... Sting will talk about where he drew inspiration for the album, what holidays were like for him as a child and today and why he feels the season is a mix of light and darkness emotionally.
  • Later on Christmas Day, World Cafe® will air a special Christmas show featuring Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Aqua Teen Hunger Force from 2-4 p.m. Preservation Hall Jazz Band will play New Orleans seasonal favorites plus some rare holiday tunes and will talk about what it's like to celebrate Christmas in New Orleans. Next, Aqua Teen Hunger Force will discuss their holiday album, Have Yourself A Meaty Little Christmas, and what it was like to collaborate with Neko Case on the album.
  • The annual Year in Review will kick off on Monday, December 28 and will air through Monday, January 4. WXPN will play back the Top 10 CDs and Top 100 songs of 2009, with albums airing December 28-31 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and songs airing on January 1 and again on January 4 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Over 2,700 XPN listeners selected their favorite music of 2009 during a multimedia polling event, and XPN narrowed the list down to 10 albums and 100 songs.
"These programs will help get anyone in the holiday spirit," said Bruce Warren, Assistant General Manager for Programming at WXPN. "Join us as we celebrate this special time of year and look back on the best music of 2009."

WXPN, the nationally recognized leader in Triple A radio and the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk, is the non-commercial, member-supported radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. WXPN produces World Cafe®, public radio's most popular program of popular music hosted by David Dye and syndicated by NPR, and the Peabody Award winning Kids Corner hosted by Kathy O'Connell. WXPN also produces the alternative rock service, Y-Rock On XPN as its secondary radio channel in HD that is also available online. WXPN serves the greater Philadelphia area at 88.5 FM, the Lehigh Valley at 104.9, Worton/Baltimore at 90.5 FM, Lancaster/York at 88.7 FM, Harrisburg at 99.7 FM, and the world via online streaming at XPN.org.

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