On a Sunday night in September 1967, Phil Shapiro made his first Ithaca broadcast on WVBR’s Bound for Glory, presenting folk music of all sorts and kinds to the Central New York listening audience.

For over 50 years and  over 1,600 concerts, WVBR’s Bound for Glory provided free, live folk concerts on over thirty Sunday evenings per year in the Cafe at Anabel Taylor Hall on the Cornell University campus. Those who couldn’t make the live shows could tune in on WVBR, in Ithaca or on the Internet. The show ran from 8 to 11 pm (ET) with three live sets at 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30.

Since 1967. Phil Shapiro, Cornell M.A. ’69, creator and host of Bound for Glory, hosted and produced all but one or two of the over 1,600 live shows. When Cornell was on break, and the Cafe in Anabel Taylor Hall was closed, he hosted the show almost every week from the WVBR studios.

Bound for Glory got its start the year folk legend Woody Guthrie died and Shapiro came to Cornell as a graduate student in economics. Shapiro started his show at WVBR’s studio, then located in the basement of Willard Straight Hall. The aspiring DJ started out spinning vinyl, but he soon added live performances by local musicians to the mix. In 1969, “Bound for Glory” began airing live from the coffeehouse at Anabel Taylor Hall, where it remained for over a half century.

Shapiro’s promotional savvy and word of mouth soon made “Bound for Glory” a household name on the folk music circuit. Today, it’s a major tour stop for any folk singer–established or unknown. That’s an accomplishment in itself: no one gets paid money for appearing, or working, on Bound for Glory–including Phil Shapiro, the many loyal volunteers that help run the show, and the performers.

Bound for Glory performers have always gotten compensated with an element that is all too rare these days, according to the show’s genial host. “They get paid in magic,” said Shapiro. “Our live audience is known far and wide as the best folk audience in the country. We have famous performers come back again and again.” Admission to the live performances has always been free, and everyone has always been welcomed.

In March of 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic forced Bound for Glory to start an extended hiatus from live shows. After a couple weeks of “Albums from the Studio” shows, they started to rebroadcast previous live shows, using the extensive archive of recordings which Phil had been gathering for the entire fifty-plus year history of the show.

In October of 2024,, the Friends of Bound for Glory created a special live program to celebrate 58 years of Bound for Glory. It was held at the Hanger Theatre in Ithaca, NY, and featured over six hours of live performances by over 30 of Bound for Glory’s favorite musicians. You can check out the list of those who performed here.

In the Fall of 2025, the Friends of Bound for Glory embarked on a new chapter in the life of Bound for Glory. They started a new series of live Bound for Glory shows, at a new time (afternoon!) and a new venue—the Lansing Area Performance Hall at 1004 Auburn Road in North Lansing, New York.

These once-a-month live shows will be recorded for broadcast on a future Sunday’s WVBR’s Bound for Glory radio show. The Lansing Area Performance Hall is a wonderful, acoustically rich converted church on Auburn Road in Lansing. We have chosen a mid-afternoon time to make it easier for everyone to come join us in the live audience, and the shows will be hosted by a new host, our dear friend Travis Knapp.