WXPN has a impressive number of events featuring live music throughout the year. Free-at-Noons every Friday. The XPN Music Festival every July in Camden, NJ. And others. But, for me, none are as awesome as the NonComm-vention, which is a three day music industry event held at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia every May. Dan Reed, the XPN afternoon drive time host and radio station's music director, puts NonComm together, and he and his staff do an amazing job of booking a couple of dozen groups and singer-songwriters, some old and some new, for the hundreds of AAA music folks and the XPN members who are lucky enough to attend.
This year's NonComm was highlighted (in my view) by a fabulous appearance by The Mavericks (more on them soon in a future post). But another highlight for me was the Thursday night appearance by a group called Baskery. Baskerwho?
Baskery. Three Swedish sisters who very much look Swedish but who speak perfect English. They took the upstairs stage at World Cafe Live last night at 7:30 and rocked the house for an amazing 30 minute set. Oldest sister Greta on a "modified" banjo and banging away on the bass drum, middle sister Stella on the standup bass, and little sister Sunniva on the electric and acoustic guitars and also adding some percussion, put out the sound of an eight piece band. Their harmonies were pitch perfect. Their enthusiasm was off the charts. And their performance was sagolik! (Or fabulous for those of you who don't speak Swedish.)
So, did Baskery impress enough of the AAA radio crowd in the audience to put Baskery in major radio play rotation? We'll see. But, in the meantime, here's Baskery playing a song called "Nobody Nice."