WXPN Features Bobby Long as the XPN Artist To Watch for January

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Created on Saturday, 01 January 2011 12:34

This folk rock sensation got his start at open mic nights in London nightclubs and bars, where he caught the attention of listeners with his acoustic, largely folk-based repertoire and started to build a following. Since then, Bobby Long has played numerous shows across Europe and North America, including last summer’s XPoNential Music Festival in Philadelphia. His song “Let Me Sign,” co-written with Marcus Foster, was featured on the soundtrack for the hit movie Twilight in 2008. Bobby describes his music as being like drops of rain on a bull fighter’s back, like punches breaking through a windy gale, like a crash in the woods when it’s raining; simply music stripped down to its purest form with no pretenses, no airs, and no electronic or computer generated enhancements. In April 2010, Bobby signed with ATO Records, and his album A Winter Tale, set to be released on February 1st, has been called his “tapestry of tales,” and is sure to please listeners with compelling melodies and lyrics.

“We knew when we first heard ‘Who Have You Been Loving’ that there was something very special about Bobby,” says Dan Reed. “He’s an exceptional talent who has the ability to connect with people, and has the knack of writing universally compelling songs.”

“Now that Bobby’s been signed and his music will be more widely available, we really felt we wanted to use the opportunity to continue to showcase his incredible talents even more,” says Bruce Warren, Assistant General Manager of Programming for WXPN. “Bobby’s an incredible songwriter and performer.”

Click for more on the XPN Artists To Watch series and this month’s featured artist.

Since 2003, the XPN Artists To Watch series has been a reflection of WXPN’s commitment to nurturing fresh, new talent and exposing listeners to the best new music. Each month, the XPN Artists To Watch series spotlights a different up-and-coming performer who has produced an album or body of work that demonstrates outstanding vision, creativity and songwriting ability. Month-long on-air promotion is combined with online features to help audiences discover each artist.

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 (yrockonxpn.org) as its secondary radio channel in HD. 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.