Gene Shay, longtime host of WXPN’s Sunday night “Folk Show” and co-founder of the Philadelphia Folk Festival, died April 17 of COVID-19 at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood. He was 85.

Gene Shay was born Ivan Shaner and grew up in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia. Mr. Shay got on-air experience on Armed Forces Radio in Germany in the 1950s, and after working at local TV station Channel 10, he played jazz at WHAT during an afternoon slot. From 1962 to 1968, he hosted the Sunday night folk broadcast. In 1962, he cofounded the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

In 1963, he and his wife, Gloria, brought Bob Dylan to Philadelphia for the first time, for a sparsely attended gig at the Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square. In 1967, Joni Mitchell, whom Mr. Shay called “the most creative person I ever met,” played “Both Sides Now” for the first time on his show.

Mr. Shay went on to WDAS, WMMR and WIOQ. He was on the University of Pennsylvania’s WXPN from 1995 to 2015, hosting the weekly “Folk Show.” He was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame in 2013 (Almanac November 12, 2013). A plaque bearing his name is located on the Avenue of the Arts.

“I always tell people he’s the reason I’m doing what I’m doing,” said David Dye, the former host of WXPN’s “World Cafe.” The show was named by Mr. Shay when it was founded in 1991 as part of his side gig as an advertising copywriter.

Mr. Shay is survived by his daughters, Rachel Vaughan and Elana Benasutti; two grandchildren; and a sister. A celebration of life will be planned for a later date.