Monday through Friday at 2pm ET the World Cafe with host David Dye serves up an eclectic mix of music from blues, rock, and world, to folk, and alternative country with live performances and interviews with celebrated and emerging artists. This acclaimed program, distributed nationally to over 185 stations across the country through NPR, is produced by WXPN in Philadelphia.

Coming Up

Monday November 17, 2008: Okkervill River

Indie rock outfit Okkervil River talks to host David Dye on the World Cafe about their latest record, The Stand Ins. This hotly anticipated sequel to last year's acclaimed work on The Stage Names sees the band sticking to an ambitious path, mixing up hints of country twang with smooth crooning and even orchestral interludes. In his chat with David, lead singer and songwriter, Will Sheff, reveals the real characters that populate his songs and how the new album offers a satirical look at the entertainment industry.

Tuesday November 18, 2008: Emiliana Torrini

Icelandic singer-songwriter Emiliana Torrini joins Davidfor music and conversation drawn from her new album Me And Armini. In this interview, she recalls her musical beginnings growing up in Iceland with minimal exposure to pop music. This fresh perspective allowed her to create her own style with an improvisational songwriting approach. Torrini's come up with an adventurous acoustic-based album with a trip-hop electronica flair, setting her apart in the coffeehouse genre.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008: Eric Hutchinson

Eric Hutchinson brings a style he calls "acoustic soul" to the World Cafe with David Dye. When his contract to Maverick Records went down with the ship, Eric hit the road to generate his own exposure, and in the end, self-released his debut as well. Showcasing songs from Sounds Like This, Eric's earned a spot touring alongside Joe Jackson and G. Love – a thrill for the singer-songwriter who got his start in the Boston coffeehouse scene. The do-it-yourselfer's break came when a mention by gossip blogger Perez Hilton boosted the album to the top of the iTunes sales charts, and in this interview Eric talks about the benefits of the internet to musicians today.

Thursday, November 20, 2008: Steve Wynn

David Dye is joined by singer-songwriter Steve Wynn, formerly of Dream Syndicate. Wynn took a break from his current band, The Baseball Project, to record Crossing Dragon Bridge. Seeking inspiration, he traveled far from his New York City apartment to Ljubljana, Slovenia where he crafted an album that sounds unlike anything he's done before. Producer Chris Eckman insisted he make a completely solo record utilizing all his talents, including guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals, resulting in a stripped-down but lushly orchestrated collection. Wynn manifests the mood of his new territory in these songs, and he reflects in this interview on how Slovenia took hold of the album's direction.

Friday, November 21, 2008: Boz Scaggs

Boz Scaggs joins host David Dye on the World Cafe to perform songs off his new album, Speak Low. Boz was fixed on most of the material and had a rough sound in mind long before recording his interpretation of jazz standards, but the concept was blurry until he pinpointed the instrumentation: a string-horns-vibes combo. Some of the silky-smooth covers include "Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me" and "Skylark," and Boz reveals in this interview his motivations behind the selections.

The Lillywhite Sessions

Producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Gabriel) will produce music sessions for the World Cafe at the world-renowned Avatar Studios in New York City.

The first of the Lillywhite Sessions, featuring She & Him, aired Wednesday, June 11, 2008. Other sessions include: Goldfrapp, Dr. Dog, Fleet Foxes, and more.

Focus On:
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons

One of favorite singer-songwriters Ezra Furman & the Harpoons have a new album coming out October 7 on Minty Fresh Records called Inside The Human Body.

Last February Ezra and the band performed on the World Cafe. One of the songs they performed was "Last Song On The Mixtape," which Ezra has performed live in concert. However, it was never recorded. In fact, outside of the day when the tape was rolling in the World Cafe studios, he's still not recorded it in any other studio setting. Sadly, the song - a joyous ode to making a mixed tape - does not appear on his new record. "Some things can only be expressed by making a compilation tape," sings Furman as he proceeds to energetically celebrate the glory of mixed tapes as a fundamental truth to living a fulfilled rock 'n' roll life. But wait! In anticipation of Ezra's new album and the fact that we love the song so much, "Last Song On The Mixtape" is available right now compliments of Ezra, Minty Fresh Records and the World Cafe.

More Ezra Furman

Download "Last Song On The Mixtape."
(Free Download of 2 Songs)

Download another Ezra Furman song, "We Should Fight", from their forthcoming album, compliments of The Tripwire.

Preorder their new CD
You can pre-order Inside the Human Body, Ezra & the Harpoons' new album from Amazon.com.

Check out Ezra and the band's World Cafe interview and performance on February 6, 2008 with David Dye

Listen to Ezra & the Harpoons' live performance at the XPoNential Music Festival

Festival Set List (7/12/08)
We Should Fight
The Stakes Are High
My Soul Has Escaped From My Body
The Worm In The Apple
Take Off Your Sunglasses
Big Deal
Halloween Snow

Ezra on MySpace

Episode Archives

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