World Cafe is a two-hour long, nationally syndicated music radio program that originates from WXPN, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The program began in 1991 and was originally distributed by Public Radio International. Since 2005, the show has been distributed by NPR. Hosted by David Dye, World Cafe features live performances and interviews with established and emerging artists. The program's format covers a wide spectrum of musical genres, including indie rock, folk, hard rock, singer-songwriter, alt-country, and world music. The program produces two weekly podcasts containing interviews and information about musical performers: "World Cafe Words and Music," which features more established singers and bands, and "World Cafe Next," which highlights emerging artists.
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Hear the entertaining, theatrical folk group perform four songs from Nobody Dances in This Town. -
The music superstars appear in the studio to perform songs from their new collaborative album, Wise Up Ghost. While the record is structurally based in hip-hop, it comes out as a little something else. -
Hear two songs from the 21-year-old singer's debut album, In the Silence. It's the best-selling record in Icelandic music history, which is saying something. -
No longer a solo act, the singer-songwriter and his band The Pariah Dogs released God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise in 2010. In this archival recording, check out their old-school Americana on stage at WXPN in Philadelphia.
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The affable singer-songwriter performs carefree songs from his new album, From Here to Now to You. In a conversation with host David Dye, Johnson praises his wife as the source of his success. -
Hear Ernesto Lechner of The Latin Alternative discuss the romantic genre called balada. Lechner also touches on why the '80s weren't kind to the nostalgic Latin style. -
The roots-rock singer and Drive-By Truckers veteran performs songs of redemption from his new album. Along the way, he gets help from his band — including his wife, singer and fiddler Amanda Shires. -
The duo of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward stops by World Cafe to perform songs from the recent Volume 3. The New Girl, the TV sitcom starring Deschanel, begins its third season Tuesday night. -
Hear two new songs from the punchy and promising L.A. indie-rock band's debut EP. -
Hear Justin Vernon's stripped-down performance of the divisive, '80s-style power ballad "Beth/Rest."
