We’ve been completely remiss thus far in not posting about this year’s Xponential Music Festival, WXPN’s annual vibe-a-thon that you might think you are too cool for, but really, you are not. Sure, The Hold Steady, the 4th Worst Band In Philly circa 2006, are playing, and that’s annoying, but by the time they go on, you’ll already be passed on a lawn while a bunch of kids use all-natural crayons to draw on your face. There’s also Peter Bjorn & John, Pete Yorn, Good Old War, Illinois, Yeasayer, The Revelations, and Annuals on the bill (among many others), including the bill’s most recent addition, John Forté (pictured). You may recognize Forté’s name from his work producing The Score by The Fugees, an album we’re going to illegally download and turn up LOUD the minute this post goes live. Forté’s got an interesting story, which he talks about in this Billboard piece; in 2000, he was caught with $1.4 million’s worth of liquid cocaine. He went to jail, only to be pardoned by George W. Bush after Carly Simon and Orrin Hatch lobbied for his release. (We told you it was an interesting story.) Since his pardon, Forté has been super-prolific, including this cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” which sounds like it could have been a Fugees track, if the Fugees had not imploded and Wyclef Jean did not become the black Robin Williams. But we digress: If you are thinking about going to Xponential Fest this year, buy tickets now — there’s an early bird special that’s way cheap, but it expires on July 11. It’s never too late to plan today just which lawns in Camden you’ll be passing out on tomorrow.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 3:22 pm.