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WXPN Takes Us Back to Live Aid this Sunday to Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Legendary Concert

originally published: 07/09/2025


(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- This Sunday, July 13, 2025, listen live as Philadelphia-based AAA public radio station, WXPN commemorates the 40th anniversary of the transcontinental Live Aid concerts by playing performances from the day when the power of music unified the world from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.  WXPN will play back highlights and sets of music in chronological order matching the event that changed pop forever.

Performers include Queen, U2, David Bowie, Hall and Oates, Madonna, Sting, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, The Pretenders, The Hooters,  Phil Collins (who traveled on the Concorde to play both events) and many more.

Join WXPN hosts Robert Drake and Bruce Warren (who were both there) from 10:00am - 8:00pm as WXPN replays sets of music from the shows at Wembley and JFK stadiums, and share stories and interview more who were there – including The Hooters’ Rob Hyman, WMMR’s Pierre Robert, and Martha Graham Cracker, who is leading a Live Aid Tribute event Sunday at Union Transfer.

Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the concerts aimed to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The event featured an impressive lineup of over 70 artists, with the Live Aid global broadcast reaching nearly 2 billion viewers across approximately 100 countries, helping raise over $150 million for famine relief.

WXPN serves music lovers in these areas: Philadelphia at 88.5 FM; Lehigh Valley at 104.9 FM; Lancaster/York at 88.7 FM; Harrisburg at 99.7 FM; Worton/Baltimore at 90.5 FM; North Jersey/Poconos at 91.9 FM and Worldwide via streaming at xpn.org and the XPN app.




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WXPN, the nationally recognized leader in Triple A radio and the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk, is the non-commercial, member-supported, public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. WXPN produces World Cafe, public radio’s most popular program of popular music that is distributed by NPR to 300+ U.S. radio stations, and the Peabody Award-winning Kids Corner which now offers a 24-hour family music streaming service. WXPN produces XPoNential Radio on XPN2 as its secondary radio channel in HD, also available online.


 

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