By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

The folks at WXPN (88.5 FM) promise some “cool” music this weekend at Penn’s Landing.
The occasion is the annual Independence Blue Cross Singer Songwriter Weekend at Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing, at Columbus Boulevard and Spring Garden Street.
“It’s really a great family event. It’s an opportunity to share music with your children,” said Helen Leicht, music director and on-air personality at WXPN. “And it’s right there on the river, so there should be a nice cool breeze.”
Outdoor concerts will be held on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 1:20 p.m. both days.
There also will be plenty of offstage activities.
WXPN fans can meet their favorite artists and on-air personalities. Kids Corner host Kathy O’Connell will help the younger set enjoy games and other activities. WXPN will broadcast live and conduct on-air interviews.
The music, though, will be the star of the show. The concerts offer a mix of rock ’n’ roll, folk, and rhythm and blues music.
The artists include established stars and up-and-coming acts. They’ll be introduced by Leicht and fellow WXPN disc jockeys Michaela Majoun, David Dye and Ali Castellini.
On Saturday, the lineup consists of John Flynn, 4 Way Street, Solomon Burke, Raul Malo, Nick Lowe and Soniadada.
On Sunday, entertainment will be provided by Beats Walkin’, John Eddie, Patty Griffin, Cousteau, Suzanne Vega and Los Lobos.
“It’s a mix,” Leicht. “We try to blend singer/songwriters people are familiar with and others where people will walk away saying, ‘Thanks, ’XPN, for introducing them to us.’”
Leicht is a radio veteran. She brought the Breakfast With the Beatles radio show to WIOQ (102.1 FM) in 1976, then continued it at WMGK (102.9 FM). Before going to WXPN, she worked at WMMR (93.3 FM).
At WXPN, the non-commercial public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania, a song “doesn’t have to be a hit when we start playing it,” Leicht says.
She likes the singer/songwriter event because the crowd is made up of the true music lover. WXPN is a member-supported station, making the festival a home-grown event.
Past entertainers include Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, Roseanne Cash, John Hiatt, Shelby Lynn, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Five for Fighting.
This year’s artists include local acts like Flynn, a guitar-playing folk and country singer.
The Philadelphia-born Burke, a 2001 inductee into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame, has been called the “King of Rock & Soul.” He has sold more than 17 million albums.
The local band Beats Walkin’ plays Texas swing — a blend of jazz, swing, country, bluegrass, blues and boogie-woogie.
Then there are the national acts.
Lowe has put out 11 albums and produced records for Elvis Costello, the Pretenders and others.
Eddie is a veteran rock ’n’ roller who gained fame playing at clubs in Philadelphia and the Jersey shore. Bruce Springsteen has joined him onstage numerous times.
Griffin is a folksinger whose latest album, 1,000 Kisses, has received great response from WXPN listeners.
Cousteau was booked after Leicht and Majoun heard the band’s pop sound during a concert at the North Star Bar in Fairmount.
Suzanne Vega will sing cuts from her latest album, Songs in Red and Gray.
Los Lobos is best known for supplying the soundtrack for the movie La Bamba.
Soniadada will be releasing its fifth album, Barefoot Soul, on Aug. 20. The album is a meld of rhythm and blues, funk and soul.
Erik Scott, the band’s bass player and album co-producer, is looking forward to the festival.
“Philly’s a fun town. It’s a great music town,” he said in a phone interview last week from his Illinois home.
Soniadada, which played in the inaugural singer/songwriter weekend in 1994, usually plays more than 200 dates a year but has spent most of 2002 in the studio producing its latest record. Scott and other band members describe the songs on the new album as “chilled-out grooves.”
Now that the CD is about to hit music stores, the eight-member band is playing at festivals this summer.
“Festivals are great. It’s a great summer atmosphere,” Scott said.
Soniadada plans to tour in October. The dates and sites haven’t been set, but Scott expects the band to come to Philadelphia.
Soniadada has played with some of this weekend’s acts before, and Scott thinks fans are in for a treat.
“Sounds great,” he said after hearing the lineup of artists.
The Singer Songwriter Weekend will take place on Saturday and Sunday. Concerts begin both days at 1:20 p.m. Tickets cost $10 at the gate. They cost $5 if purchased in advance at www.xpn.org or www.pennslandingcorp.com or at Borders Books & Music stores.