Walker ended his set with the title track off the new album. From there, Walker moved into a cover of Van Morrison’s “Fair Play,” a great choice for showcasing his voice’s malleability. His short set (the norm at Non-COMM), consisted of “Funny Thing She Said” and “Summer Dress” from his new record Primrose Green, the former being explored and taken to new heights from the recorded version. That emotion told the audience things that his lyrics could not. Not necessarily folk music in the sense that he’s playing a homemade dobro dressed as someone who just returned from the Battle of Bull Run, but in that he’s telling stories, not only with his lyrics but with the emotion in his voice. He’s making folk music in how the term was originally used. The blues influence surprised me, as it is not as prevalent on record. It’s Ryan Adams with a hint of Howlin’ Wolf. Walker played his guitar expertly, but his voice is what stood out especially. Walker’s acoustic tunes, with the complement of an electric guitarist, were folk-blues at its finest. Please do not let that fool you, as Walker is clearly a cut above. When Ryley Walker sat down on his stool at the small PRX stage early on Wednesday, he looked like just another coffee house singer-songwriter. Set List: Bullets and Rocks, Splitter, When the Angels Play, Tapping On the Line, Alone Again Or (Love cover), Not Even Stevie Nicks…, Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division Cover), Cumbia de Donde, Falling From the Sky They closed out with “Falling From the Sky” and proved that they were up to the task of opening for the legend. Getting a crowd of older fans waiting on Brian Wilson dancing is not an easy task, but Calexico was able to do it with the latin-rock jam. They played a set heavy on songs from their most recent work Edge of the Sun, adding a cover of Love’s “Alone Again Or” and a smart cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” The highlight of the show was “Cumbia de Donde” off the new album. The band worked smoothly through their set list mostly acoustically, offering a different style to fans of the band that are used to the bigger band sound. The band stripped down a bit for this set and didn’t have their full roster of normal members, but you wouldn’t know it by the quality of the show. The band played a sold out show at Noon on a Friday, opening for legendary Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson. Tucson Americana act Calexico brought their Tex-Mex Indie rock to Non-COMM on Friday in the most difficult schedule placement of the week. Set List: Loser, Cross My Heart, All Wet, Alice, Your Love, Mother, The River Philadelphia is a on a bit of hot streak churning out rock stars and it looks like they have another one in Son Little. The hometown crowd responded at the set’s finish. It gives you the feeling of riding on a heavy steam train barreling straight up a mountain. The song remains on the precipice of losing steam but never quite does. The slow-burning classic soul song was followed by a rollicking version of “The River,” a song that fights to maintain a steady momentum throughout. His newest single, “O Mother” is a beautiful soul track that was written as he was overcome with emotions regarding racial injustice and the events of the past year. The two songs that closed out the set were the highlights. The growling blues vocals are similar to those that Livingston added to The Roots’ 2011 album Undun. The framework of the songs is similar to the electronic soul-rock that Livingston created with Icebird, his collaboration with DJ RJD2. Fragments of Livingston’s past projects are littered throughout his work as Son Little. Philadelphia’s own Aaron Livingston, now known as Son Little, led things off on Thursday with a tight set of tracks off his debut EP, Things I Forgot. From emerging artists like Leon Bridges to music legends like Brian Wilson, Non-COMM 2015 had something for everyone to enjoy narrowing it down to the ten best performances was a harrowing task. This year’s iteration had performances from over 30 artists from across the spectrum of the music industry. The highlights of this unique event each year for music fans are the music showcases. Non-COMM also hosts workshops and invites speakers from within the public radio community. This genre-melding event held at World Café Live in Philly has been taking place since 2001 and has hosted performances from the likes of Willie Nelson and Phoenix to My Morning Jacket and Dr. Last week, WXPN’s annual Non-COMMvention in Philadelphia brought together music industry members, artists and music fans for three days dedicated to cultivating and celebrating public radio and live music.
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