XPoNential fest announces lineup for Wiggins Park, but no BB&T shows yet
Dawes, Adia Victoria, Ani DiFranco, Strand of Oaks, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram are among the acts that will be playing in Camden in September.
Los Lobos, Dawes, Ani DiFranco, Strand of Oaks, Devon Gilfillian, Adia Victoria, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram are among the acts that will play the returning XPoNential Music Festival from Sept. 17 to 19 at Wiggins Park in Camden.
XPoNential has traditionally combined its daylight portion at intimate Wiggins Park with two nights of headliners at the capacious BB&T Pavilion amphitheater next door that are booked in partnership with Live Nation.
This year, the BB&T portion of the festival curated by WXPN-FM (88.5) may or may not be happening.
On the festival web site, the station states that “we hope to have performances at the BB&T Pavilion, however, it will depend on the availability of artists who are currently reworking their schedules to accommodate COVID-delayed shows.” On Tuesday, a spokesperson added: “We are working with Live Nation on the BB&T shows but have nothing to announce at this point.”
This year’s Wiggins lineup will also include The Record Company, Shovels & Rope, Cory Henry, Jade Bird, Michaela Anne, Sierra Ferrell, Sofía Valdés, and Lakou Mizik. More acts for the Wiggins portion of the show are to be announced in the coming weeks.
This will be the first XPoNential staged in September, rather than at the height of summer. Last year, before the coronavirus shutdown caused the 2020 fest to be canceled, the station had already planned to move back the date of the summer gathering to avoid July’s excessive heat.
The XPoNential announcement comes as COVID-19 infection rates are falling throughout the region and the Philadelphia summer concert season is finally coming into focus. Phish’s Atlantic City beach concert dates in August were announced this week, along with the lineup for Delaware’s Firefly Festival, which happens the weekend after XPoNential.
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Music fans are still awaiting word on other large gatherings, such as the Roots Picnic, which is not currently on the Mann Center schedule for 2021, and Made in America, which normally takes place on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Labor Day weekend. Promoters did not say when announcements about those festivals would be made.
Scheduling information about which dates the XPoNential bands will be playing at Wiggins Park has not been announced. Festival passes are currently available only in pairs to XPN members who donate $30 a month or more to the station. Individual weekend and daily passes will go on sale at a later date. More information can be found at xpnfest.org.