An Evening With Devon Gilfillian, SNACKTIME and Danielle Ponder

WFUV is pleased to announce “An Evening with Devon Gilfillian, SNACKTIME, and special guest Danielle Ponder,” a celebratory concert on Wednesday, November 11 at Sony Hall, a benefit for the public radio station. 

This autumn event, a preamble to Thanksgiving and FUV’s annual focus on gratitude, is also an opportunity to thank artists and listeners who sustain FUV’s legacy of music discovery and community. It's also FUV's final major public event of the year.

"In a time when funding is being stripped away from our public radio stations, I feel that it’s essential to support a station like WFUV more than ever," says Gilfillian. "Our public radio stations don’t only provide incredible music, but they also provide essential news, weather updates, and more importantly they create community. I’m honored to support FUV and will always support public radio."

There's a lot of Philadelphia freedom in this year's concert! Although now based in Nashville, Gilfillian is a native of the City of Brotherly Love and SNACKTIME still call Philly home. Danielle Ponder is our own "NY Slice" of splendor — she's originally from Rochester.

Tickets for this station benefit are on sale now via Eventbrite. 

Doors are at 7:00 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Sony Hall is located at 235 West 46th Street in Manhattan. 

A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $500 each, which include a pre-concert VIP party. For more details on the VIP ticket package, write to FUV's Theresa Lynch.

With sponsorship from Connecticut's Surfside Hotel and Little Pub.

About the Artists:

Devon Gilfillian

Born and raised in the Philadelphia area and now calling Nashville home, Devon Gilfillian has long paralleled his artistry with a deep social awareness. His debut album, Black Hole Rainbow, arrived in January 2020 — right before the world shuttered due to Covid. Touring was out of the question, but Gilfillian was far from idle, expressing his despair over the relentless news cycle and George Floyd’s murder — and eloquently reflecting the racial justice messaging of Black Lives Matter — with a stunning album-length cover of Marvin Gaye’s titanic 1971 album What’s Going On. Gilfillian recruited friends for the project, including Jamila Woods and Jasmine Cephas Jones, and designated all proceeds to be donated to Tennessee’s Equity Alliance Fund. (That nonprofit combats voter suppression and educates communities of color on the democratic process in that state.) The following year, Black Hole Rainbow was nominated for a non-classical engineering Grammy. Devon’s second album, Love You Anyway, artfully reflected on aspects of ‘60s and ‘70s soul, R&B, and rock and landed him a Triple A hit with “All I Really Wanna Do.” 

Gilfillian’s new, third album is 2026’s Time Will Tell, a collection of songs that evolved from personal travails: his father’s heart attack (and recovery) and a foundering romantic relationship. “I definitely vent my life through my music,” Gilfillian told FUV. “It’s almost impossible for me not to.” Although the tough topics circling Time Will Tell might sound daunting, Gilfillian smartly embraces that full emotional roller coaster, balancing ballads (“Shines in You”) with gospel-brushed gems (“Some Days”) and raucous, fuzzed-out rockers (“Black Dog Rabbit Hole”). Gilfillian, who played a 2019 FUV Live session and a 2023 Rockwood Music Hall concert for WFUV, has been touring with SNACKTIME this past summer and fall — and FUV is grateful that these friends are playing the station’s “An Evening With …” benefit concert. (photo: Travys Owen, PR)

SNACKTIME

The Philadelphia septet won’t release their debut album until 2027, but SNACKTIME already has an ardent following, built from the grassroots free performances they began outdoors in that city’s Rittenhouse Square during the pandemic. The magnificent seven — Nico Bryant (vocals), Sam Gellerstein (bass), Austin Marlow (drums), Larry Monroe, Jr. (guitar), Eric Sherman (trumpet, guitar), Michael Spearman (trombone, keys), and Ben Stocker (tenor sax) — swiftly expanded their reputation with a live album, 2022’s Sounds From the Street: Live!,” sold-out headlining shows, and local (and beyond) festivals including Philly's Roots Picnic. A heavy touring schedule over the last few years sealed their ability to coalesce elements of funk, alt-pop, R&B, and the exuberance of classic Philly soul. An EP, 2024’s This is Dance, deepened their dynamic sound. 

SNACKTIME have toured with Portugal. The Man, Fitz and The Tantrums, and most recently, Devon Gilfillian. The septet also entered interleague NY Yankees territory (sorry, Philadelphia Phillies) for an FUV Live session in  2024. A new single, “Can’t Imagine Why You'd Stay,” was released in late summer on their new label, Thirty Tigers. And in 2026, the group impressed at high-profile gigs at the Newport Folk Festival (where they also played with Ms. Lauryn Hill, Matt Quinn of Mt. Joy, and Devon Gilfillian) and Lollapalooza. SNACKTIME are gearing up for their first album. “We want to make people dance, but we also want to make them think and feel,” says Bryant in the band’s bio. “We want them to walk away feeling less alone and a little bit better about their situation.” (photo: Anthony Mulcahy, PR)

Danielle Ponder

What to do when faced with two dreams that demand different commitments? Rochester-born, Atlanta-based Danielle Ponder was a public defender and activist, but her innate gifts as a singer, songwriter, and musician pulled her in new direction in her late thirties. In the aftermath of the pandemic, Ponder made the life-altering choice to pursue her artistic vision and left her legal day job. She released a debut album in 2022, Some of Us Are Brave, which gave Ponder a powerful, alternate platform to speak as a Black woman and feminist, committed to racial justice and the path set by such fellow artists (and her inspirations) as Nina Simone and bell hooks. Since leaping headfirst into music, Ponder has since toured with Leon Bridges, George Clinton, and Marcus Mumford. She also played an FUV Live concert at Rockwood Music Hall in 2023.

In 2026, Ponder signed with the Dead Oceans label in partnership with Phoebe Bridgers and will release a second album, Everything Has Changed, on October 9. The songs from that album, including “Power,” “Sun and Moon,” and “God of You,” are inspired by Ponder’s exploration of the Black diaspora, partly sparked by her connection with Senegal. Working with producers Mike Elizondo (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Turnstile, Joy Oladokun) and Barney L (Jessie Ware, Obongjayar), Everything Has Changed is also a strong declaration of self-determination for Ponder. "There's a lot of calling out on this album more than I typically would do," she has said, "and it's because I am at the end of the game of centering men and feeling like they're saviors whose validation will make me finally worthy." (photo: Faith Joyvan, PR)