Philly Anthems: WXPN commemorates America 250 through local music
This month, WXPN rolls out its Philly Anthems project, featuring original songs from a Philadelphia-based group of seasoned and emerging musicians prompted by a timely theme: freedom.
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In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, WXPN will roll out Philly Anthems this July through the fall. The timely project showcases original, freedom-themed songs from a Philadelphia-based cohort of seasoned and emerging musicians.
In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, WXPN—the member-supported public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania—is threading past and present through its Philly Anthems initiative. The commissioning project, supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, calls upon a select Philadelphia-based cohort of five established musicians and seven emerging artists to craft original songs that invoke Revolutionary-era themes of freedom and independence, as well as how these ideas continue to resonate today.
“A lot of the themes that we’re thinking about today [were] very hotly contested [during] those times,” says WXPN general manager Roger LaMay. “Having artists explore some of those themes—and what those ideas mean in the context of today—I think is exciting.”
The established Philadelphia musicians—Christian McBride, Eric Bazilian, Devon Gilfillian, Eliza Hardy Jones, and Lady Alma—span genres and styles, ranging from jazz and rock to house and soul. Starting the week of July 13, WXPN will release a new Philly Anthems track from one of these artists every two weeks, culminating with Gilfillian premiering his song at the XPoNential Music Festival in mid-September. Then, in October, WXPN will release the rising artists’ songs all together and host live shows with the musicians.
The project will conclude on Record Store Day in April 2027 with the rollout of a Philly Anthems album featuring all 12 original tracks, marking WXPN’s annual vinyl release.
Philly Anthems, says LaMay, extends beyond a celebration of the nation’s storied founding—it also aims to amplify the visibility and development of rising Philadelphia artists and pay tribute to the city’s robust musical heritage. The seven emerging artists can access workshops and mentorship from the established cohort. These local artists, LaMay says, are eager for the opportunity to learn from and work alongside their more established peers, noting that “to be in the same group—it mean[s] a lot to them.”
“It seemed like a great opportunity to both draw attention to the music happening now, but also the historical legacy of Philadelphia as a music city,” LaMay says, noting the project is a timely opportunity to “celebrate local music [in] a unique way.”
On June 6, WXPN hosted a special edition of their annual 24-Hour Song Challenge, inviting area musicians to write and record an original song—themed around “freedom”—in under 24 hours. The winner, selected from nearly 350 submissions, will be announced on July 14 and become the seventh member of the Philly Anthems rising artist group. The grand prize includes a $5,000 honorarium, a lineup slot at the 2026 XPoNential Music Festival and Philly Music Fest, a $500 gift card for Russo Music, access to songwriting workshops, a premium WXPN membership, 10 hours of studio time at MilkBoy Recording Studio, and their song featured on the Philly Anthems album.
As WXPN prepares to roll out Philly Anthems, LaMay considers the project to be part of a broader tapestry of America 250-themed festivities across the Penn community.
“The University is such a quilt of activities,” LaMay says, noting Penn’s emphasis on freedom-related themes in honor of the semiquincentennial. “Our part of the quilt at WXPN is really about musical exploration of these themes.”
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