WXPN Welcomes The Inaugural 21 Songwriters Philly Music Festival
Description
A donation ticketed event.
WXPN Welcomes
Bigger Beast Records and The Fallser Club's
Inaugural 21 Songwriters Music Festival
Just in time for the XPN 24-hour Songwriter's Challenge! The prompt will be announced at noon.
https://songchallenge.xpn.org
And we will help you get ready with workshops, camaraderie, and plenty of spaces to sneak away and get some work done. You can even play your song at the 8pm Open Mic and get feedback.
12pm to 4pm Musician workshops at The Fallser Club and Taqueria Cresta.
4pm to 8pm, 21 Singer-songwriters
8pm to 11pm open mic for ticketed performers.
Tickets
A community gathering of singer-songwriters.
Workshops, networking, performances, and an open mic.
Think of it as a music conference that everyone can afford!!
The Fallser Club wants to continue supporting emerging and established artists, and as a small
nonprofit, we rely on donations. Please sign up to attend, and please donate what you can to support us.
We are fundraising for an incubator kitchen that will allow us to help rising chefs and offer kitchen
shares to small local food vendors. We have a matching grant from the city of Philadelphia. Let's build a
kitchen!!
There Will Be Opportunities to Record Your Songs!
We will set up three stations for filming and recording.
We will run a first-come, first-served signup sheet with organized time slots.
The live performance of the song will be recorded, and the audio will be synced and sent to the artist via email within 90 minutes of their performance.
- One of our volunteer artist teammates, Christina, will run a first come first serve signup sheet for recording with organized time slots. No more than 3 people allowed in the station per time slot.
- The live performance of the song will be recorded and the audio will be synced and sent to the artist via email within 90 minutes of their performance. We will allocate one hour per time slot to allow the artist 5 to 6 attempts at their performance.
Workshops
12pm to 1pm
The Fallser Club: WXPN Songwriter Competition Prompt Announced
Prompt explained, scoop on what they are looking for. What makes a great song?
How to get started. Hint: Have fun!
Getting Booked, Getting The Attention of Labels & Radio
Jim McGuinn (WXPN), Jesse Lundy (Rising Sun), Frank Viele (Bigger Beast Records)
1pm to 2pm
Workshop #1 The Fallser Club: Marketing and Publicity Actions for Independent Artists: How to Get Noticed In An Overcrowded Space
Maggie Poulas (Mixtape Media), Brianna Demayo (Taste Creators), Clara Gillette (Sonic)
Workshop #2 Cresta: Songwriting workshop- Write a Song in 24 hours or 90 Minutes or Just Take Your Time (options for all styles)
Jesse Terry, Ben Arnold, and Frank Viele
2pm to 3pm
Workshop #1 Fallser: Looping Workshop
Bright Kelly and Lia Menaker
Workshop #2 Cresta: Performance Workshop
Meghan Cary
3-4pm
Workshop #1 Fallser: The Power in the Collective: Banding together to create a stronger local music scene.
Bo Rains (Calliope Collective), Ramón Jones (Recording Academy)
Workshop #2 Cresta: Sync Workshop (get music to music supervisors, which shows supervisors do, and what kind of music they generally look for.
LIz Miller
10% off Taqueria Cresta with your Fallser Club ticket!!
By Car or By Train
The East Falls Train Station is a short walk from the Fallser Club. Parking in East Falls is no problem! There is ample free on-street parking near the East Falls train station driveway at 3610 Midvale Ave and a paid municipal lot three blocks away at 4100 Ridge Ave. Midvale Ave and Ridge Ave are both well-lit!
Open Mic Hosted by Bo Rains and Christina Meadows
The Singer Songwriters
Listen to the 21 performer playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06lmINFmnwIdfzyRJgPLu4?pi=C28cRUJYTVi1r
Ben Arnold
For decades, Arnold has crafted his own brand of amplified American roots music, touring across the U.S. and Europe while evolving into a prolific, multifaceted artist. His album XI bridges personal reflection and universal themes, shifting between intimate moments and anthemic scope, and showcasing the depth of his songwriting after more than 30 releases. Written largely during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic and shaped by time spent in Philadelphia and visits to his ailing mother in upstate New York, the record draws from love, loss, political unrest, and self-examination. Collaborating both remotely and in studios from Los Angeles to the East Coast with longtime partners and notable musicians, Arnold blends influences ranging from folk and country to soul and heartland rock. XI ultimately reaffirms his place as a seasoned, independent voice in American music—one who honors tradition while continuing to refine and redefine his sound.
Bo Rains
Bo Rains is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer who embarked on her musical journey at the young age of 4 with formal lessons that ignited her passion for music. By 14, she had launched her professional career.
Meghan Cary
With masterful storytelling and award-winning songs, Cary creates a live music experience that is healing, inspiring, and outrageously joyful. Her message of unity and the power of raising our voices together infuses every show, and her song, “Sing Louder”, has become an anthem for the music-loving community.
Sug Daniels
Sug Daniels is a Delaware-born, Philadelphia-based ukulele player, singer-songwriter, storyteller, and producer and coach who is using the tools around her to capture the emotions of an era. Daniels’ work is as colorful, vulnerable, and charismatic as her personality. She thoughtfully combines elements of folk, rock, and soul alternatives to create personal and tender music interlaced with messages of truth and positive change. Her single release with Don Giovanni Records "When I'm Gone" garnished well deserved attention from local and regional radio and venues and opened new paths. After years of touring with The Black Opry, playing official showcases in SXSW 2022, and supporting acts such as The Indigo Girls, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Molly Tuttle, Adeem The Artist, Buffalo Nichols, Daniels released her debut studio album "I Believe In You" on September 23, 2025.
John Faye
As a recording artist, producer, mentor, open mic host, and recently retired songwriting professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Faye has seen the music industry from every conceivable angle - from the heights of major label excess to the trenches of DIY guerrilla warfare. His various musical iterations - the Caulfields, IKE, John Faye Power Trip, John & Brittany, and his solo work - have yielded over 150 recorded songs (8+ hours of music), song placements in film and television, substantial commercial and satellite radio airplay
Antar Goodwin
Deeply steeped in the blues and roots-based music, Antar got his start playing jazz (Abbey Lincoln, Benny Golson), funk (Sharon Jones, BlaqMel), RnB/Hip Hop (Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean), and pop (Sting, Patty Smyth). Through those experiences, Antar has developed a style that is at once, a great compliment to the music as well as a sound all his own.
Bright Kelly
Blessed with a gritty voice and a disarmingly blunt perspective, Bright makes music that is as emotionally direct as it is intriguingly complex. As the frontman of The Great Enough, he’s known for delivering lush, high-energy alternative rock anthems, while his solo work reveals a more introspective, unpolished side that leans into vulnerability and nuance. His throaty, commanding voice bridges the gap between thought and feeling, inviting listeners into a mind that moves a little differently—and speaks without filters.
Kikashima
Kikashima, a California born Japanese-Mexican musical powerhouse, is an artist born of legacy and rebellion. The leader of her eponymous three-piece indie-art-rock trio, Kikashima embodies range, delivering moving power ballads and bangers that weave rock, soul, folk and disco. Based in Philadelphia and Brooklyn, Kikashima has been featured on WXPN's Key Studio Sessions and NPR's Tiny Desk Contest On The Road.
Me, Like Many
Ambient Folk With Hints of Punk, Emo, & Roots, 2025 Will Be The Year Tom D’Ademo, Under The Moniker - Me, Like Many - Is Set To Release His First Batch of New Music In Ten Years. Equal Parts Paul Simon, Elliot Smith, & Chris Carrabba Me, Like Many is a Musical Exploration With A Subtle Approach To Depth And Sonic Poetry Uniquely His Own.
Lia Menaker
For the feelers, the seekers, and the sonically curious, Lia Menaker’s music is where soulful pop meets moody elegance and emotional grit. Her voice—rich with raw emotion and echoes of soulful greats like Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse—cuts through with a modern pop and R&B edge. It’s this balance, along with playful vocal loops and sonic experimentation, that continues to fascinate and guide her songwriting and producing. Dubbed “noirtronica” by WXPN radio, her music has been featured on radio stations and films across the country and internationally.
Liz Miller
Liz Miller is a multi -genre award winning songwriter who has been compared to artists like Brandi Carlysle, Melissa Etheridge, and Diana Krall. She slips in and out of folk, rock, jazz, and singer-songwriter with native ease.
Liz's well crafted songs range from awkward and funny to heartbreaking and profound, and they are all delivered with a world weary gravel in her voice that offers listeners a glimpse of the person living the music.
After years of writing for other artists, Liz Miller has finally decided to perform her own songs. Liz has played the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville as well as Philadelphia area’s The Living Room, The Mermaid Inn, Cubizm Café, The Fallser Club, and the Royal Theater in Glenside.
https://lizmillermusicandwords.com/
Ash Phillips
https://www.instagram.com/ashcreatesdotme/
Bo Rains
Bo Rains is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer who embarked on her musical journey at the young age of 4 with formal lessons that ignited her passion for music. By 14, she had launched her professional career.
Liz Reed
There Is A Space Inside of The Songwriter Community That Is Sacred. It Is The Space That Is Occupied By The Workaday Warrior, Lifetime Creator, And Artist That Walks Through The Door First Holding It Open For Others. Liz Reed Is A Trailblazer, Music Teacher, Mother, And Activist. With Songs That Come From The Perspective of A Woman Who Never Took No For An Answer, Liz Sings For The Hard Working Moms, The Public School Educators Swimming Against The Tide, And Those Fighting Their Own Personal Battles Every Day. With A Sense of Whimsy, An Authentic Pen To Paper, A Voice That Commands Attention, And A Heart of Gold, Liz Reed Is Beginning A New Chapter In Her Incredible Story As An Artist And We Are Beyond Excited To Be Releasing Her New Music in 2025.
Stephen Peter Rodgers
An American singer/songwriter, producer and visual artist. His music career spans 4 decades starting when he was in his early teens as a founding member of underground AltRock band “Mighty Purple”, with whom he toured extensively for 20 years. Stephen’s solo albums are filled with honest, lyrics, lush guitar hooks and a widely diverse Acoustic, folk ,Indie rock sound. Stephen continues to bring his music to listening venues, festivals and house concerts and is currently working on his 5th solo album.
https://stephenpeterrodgers.com/
Arielle Silver
California-based singer and songwriter, Arielle Silver, is a consummate storyteller whose songs are rich with imagery, empathy, and insight, and equally inspired by Laurel Canyon and Greenwich Village. Conceived in the quiet of the pandemic quarantine, her new 10-song collection, Watershed, takes its title as much from that watershed moment in time as it does from the North American spaces where the story-songs take place. Renewing and reflective, water runs through many of the roots and folk-inspired songs as crosscurrents that connect ideas to experiences, and people to places.
https://ariellesilvermusic.com/
Jessica Smucker
Jessica Smucker sings like she’s thinking out loud—and somehow, like she’s telling you a story she wrote just for you.
Her voice lives in that rare space between inner monologue and open confession, reaching beyond the imaginable to pull melodies and meaning from somewhere cosmic, then gently grounding them in a humble, whimsical perspective before slipping them quietly into your subconscious.
There’s a Ben Folds–esque poetry to Smucker’s songwriting, but her imagery is soaked in lived-in truth: the lens of a dreamer sharpened by the perspective of a central Pennsylvania mother of two, fighting daily battles and learning—sometimes in real time—to cherish the small victories. Her songs don’t chase perfection; they chase honesty.
What makes Smucker’s music so arresting is its fierce vulnerability. You can hear the moments where life pushed hard enough that defeat might have seemed inevitable. But running beneath every note is resilience—earned, reinforced, and unmistakable.
There is nothing more powerful than a woman who has lovingly rebuilt herself with stronger welds than the original factory specifications, and Smucker wears that strength without ever needing to announce it.
A model of resilience, a beacon of hope, and a vessel for empathetic truth, Jessica Smucker makes music that is both expertly crafted and undeniably real—music that’s nearly impossible not to adore.
Damian Stone
https://www.instagram.com/damianstonemusic/
Jesse Terry
And who, exactly, is Jesse Terry? On "Burn The Boats," he's a man caught between heartache and personal transition, his gorgeous vocals sharing the spotlight with jangling guitars. On the Springsteen-worthy title track, he finds his own "Arcadia" — a creative utopia, named after the historical region in Greece but imbued with mythic qualities — in the songwriting process itself. And throughout the album, he pulls triple-duty as singer, songwriter, and co-producer (a role he shares with Dylan Alldredge), crafting a record that's as distinctive as it is diverse.
"I'm more obsessed with music than ever before," he says. "I love the idea of bringing something beautiful into the world."
Bryan Titus
Bryan Titus is a powerhouse singer-songwriter with the raw soul of Ray Charles and the effortless brilliance of Lyle Lovett, Paul Simon, and Tim Hardin. He first landed on the Bigger Beast radar with his official showcase at the 2024 NERFA Conference in Portland, ME, but it was his breathtaking performance of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” at our Shelter From The Storm concert that cemented his place on our roster. In honor of Dylan’s birthday, Titus will release his version of the iconic song this May under Bigger Beast Records, followed by a full-length album featuring fan favorites like “Best Life,” “Turkey Vultures,” and “Bright Side of the Blues”!
Lee Totten
He may be best known as "The Jager Guy," but for the past 20 years Boston singer/songwriter Lee Totten has been bringing his introspective upbeat acoustic/folk/pop/rock songs to audiences throughout New England and across the country. Equally comfortable solo acoustic or rocking out with his full band, Totten's natural storytelling ability brings equal parts insight and humor to the show, whether it's through the between-song stories or the well-crafted lyrics of his music.
Frank Viele
The New England Music Awards 2023 “Artist Of The Year”, Muscle Shoals Recording Artist Frank Viele Has Built A Loyal Following Touring Since His Days Fronting NYC Based Jam/Rock/Soul Outfit “Frank Viele & The Manhattan Project” & Eventually As A Solo Artist Beginning In 2015. Touring In Support of A Magnitude of Artists From Legends Like John Waite, Bob Marley’s Wailers, Foreigner, & Ambrosia, To Modern Greats Including Zach Myers of Shinedown, Smith & Myers, Howie Day, Lee DeWyze, Jeffrey Gaines, & More, Viele’s Brand of “Heartland Rock” Blends The Best Elements of Classic Southern Rock And Soul, With Modern Americana, Folk, And Country.
https://www.biggerbeastrecords.com/frank-viele-epk
Tickets
10% off Taqueria Cresta with your Fallser Club ticket!!
By Car or By Train
The East Falls Train Station is a short walk from the Fallser Club. Parking in East Falls is no problem! There is ample free on-street parking near the East Falls train station driveway at 3610 Midvale Ave and a paid municipal lot three blocks away at 4100 Ridge Ave. Midvale Ave and Ridge Ave are both well-lit!
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
This event has passed
This event has passed
More events from this host
