On Saturday night, a violent storm seemed to spell the end of Philadelphia’s music and fireworks celebration of America’s 250th birthday on the Ben Franklin Parkway. The West Philly rapper and actor was back at his hotel, with his scheduled reunion with his musical partner DJ Jazzy Jeff seemingly called off.
Then he got a phone call from “Mrs. Mayor.”
“The mayor called and asked would we go on at midnight,” Smith said in a video posted on his Instagram account on Monday, referring to Cherelle L. Parker, whom he referred to as “Mrs. Mayor” on stage when he finally got to perform at the One Philly: Unity Concert for America.
Of course he would go on at midnight, backed by The Roots, in a special occasion hometown show. It didn’t matter that the weather wound up delaying it from July 4 to the wee hours of July 5.
“This is me,” he said, making a face, as if that would even be a question. “This is me!”
Smith’s Instagram recap of his Independence Day weekend adventures included a clip from his show-closing set — which actually began after 2 a.m. — featuring a shot of the mayor rapping along to the line in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song about being “West Philadelphia, born and raised.”
During the show, which turned out to be the climactic set of the night since scheduled headliner Christina Aguilera did not perform, Smith got specific about his origins. He also spoke of the history he shares with his musical partner, whose given name is Jeffrey Townes, and Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove’ Thompson.
“Fifty-ninth and Woodcrest,” he said, while parading around the stage in a red Phillies cap and jersey. “I was born and raised at 59th and Woodcrest. DJ Jazzy Jeff, 57th and Rodman. Quest, 52nd and Osage.
“And only a couple thousand yards from here, the dream of this country was born. From the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, we sent our message out to the entire world.”
Along with a closing performance of “Summertime,” the 1991 DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince hit and Philly seasonal anthem, the show also included a display of Townes demonstrating his unparalleled turntable skills.
While Townes dazzled, Smith played air DJ, and Questlove sat on his drum throne capturing the moment on his phone, seemingly in awe. Watch that clip below.
On Instagram, Smith also posted a photo from rehearsals with The Roots, with Townes wearing a “Respect the Architects” T-shirt.
And the rapper and star of Ali also shared a clip of his visit to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the newly installed statue of Philly heavy weight champion boxer Joe Frazier.
“Philly LEGEND ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier right HERE!” he posted. “You kids have no CLUE about that left hook.”
After a three-hour-plus rain-and-lightning delay on Saturday night, the One Philly: Unity Concert for America for the nation’s 250th birthday finally resumed on Sunday morning.
Shortly before midnight, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway grounds that had been evacuated earlier in the evening due to severe weather were reopened and thousands of diehard concertgoers made their way to the front of the stage.
There DJ Aktive hyped up a crowd — younger, on average than at the earlier hour — that was a mix of Philadelphians and visiting World Cup soccer fans by spinning records by Beyoncé, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Journey. (Yes, Journey.)
Then at 12:44 a.m., Mayor Cherelle L. Parker — last seen on stage with Gov. Josh Shapiro four hours earlier — came out, led the crowd in a “Ain’t no party like a Philly block party because a Philly block party don’t stop” chant, and introduced “the Legendary Roots Crew!”
Starting with a sly intro — a few measures of Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” — the unparalleled Philly hip-hop and Tonight Show house band then put on a musical master class. Rapper (and singer) Black Thought displayed his trademark staggering breath control as he led the band (who were accompanied by DJ Jazzy Jeff) in a 20-minute nonstop workout that pulled from a century of Black music, including the band’s own rich 30-year catalog.
It was busy day for the Roots, as well as a logistically challenging one. Before taking their positions on stage in front of the Art Museum, the Philly hip-hop crew were scheduled to headline the pregame festivities at the France-Paraguay World Cup match in South Philly.
And after the Roots, it was time for the all-Philly guest list. (Christina Aguilera, from Pittsburgh, the scheduled headliner, did not perform.)
First up was Kathy Sledge, who now performs the hits she scored with her siblings as Sister Sledge under her own name.
Kathy Sledge from Sister Sledge performs with the Roots at One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway early Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Philadelphia.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
She was accompanied by a team of dancers, and on “He’s the Greatest Dancer,” a couple of eager-to-boogie dudes brought up on stage from the crowd.
The showstopper, of course, was “We Are Family,” which with Questlove keeping the beat and sousaphone player Damon Bryson moving along with the dancers, played out as a wee-hours-of-the-morning singalong.
This year’s July Fourth pre-fireworks concert on the Parkway was managed by the City of Philadelphia, after in previous recent years being produced by Wawa Welcome America, a nonprofit established by the city. The Inquirer has reported that the city is due to pay Philly-based ESM Productions about $15.5 million for the show, considerably more than the total of $6.6 million that constituted the budget for Wawa Welcome America’s entire slate of events in 2024.
Stars from the city that ‘raised a nation’
Sledge was followed by the full complement of the State Property crew, which meant not only Beanie Sigel and Philly Freeway, but also Peedi Crakk and Chris and Neff, the duo formerly known as Yung Gunz, who provided the high point of their Roots-backed set with their ageless rap classic “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.”
“I’m loving the energy tonight, I’m glad we came back,” said the next guest, Meek Mill. “I was headed out of town, and I had to double back.”
With the Roots backing him, and Questlove in particular locked in, it was at once the most tightly disciplined and casually freewheeling Meek performance I’ve ever seen.
That went for throwback tracks like “ImaCQ Boss” and “House Party” as well as an especially epic “Dreams and Nightmares,” before which the rapper asked the crowd to light up the night, which they did, with phones and flames.
Last but not least was the Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, who came bounding out shortly after 2 a.m. in a red Phillies cap and jacket to join the band and Jazzy Jeff, his musical partner Jeff Townes, with whom he was catapulted to stardom in the late 1980s.
Will Smith performs at the One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Philadelphia.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Smith has had a rocky time of it since he set his career back significantly by slapping Chris Rock on the Oscars in 2022, and his relatively joyless 2025 comeback rap album Based On a True Story didn’t help matters much.
But on the Parkway, Smith was in his element and back on form.
“Every dream I ever dreamed I dreamed in these streets,” Smith said. He then got into Semiquincentennial mode.
“And this city didn’t just raise me. It didn’t just raise us. It raised a nation. Two hundred fifty years ago, it all began here. So Happy Birthday, America!”
And with that, Smith, Townes, and the Roots did the song everybody wanted to hear, in this season in 2026: “Summertime.”
International superstar opening
Before the storm drama, the One Philly: Unity Concert for America celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday got going with an international superstar opening act.
British pop-rock vocalist Seal went on at 5:45 p.m., dressed in a yellow jacket, just as the sun dipped low enough to provide a sliver of shade and some relief for the red, white, and blue crowd gathering in front of the stage.
British singer Seal performs at One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Philadelphia.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Seemingly unbothered by the heat, the London-born singer of Nigerian and Brazilian descent demonstrated that he knows how to play to a Philadelphia crowd. His second song began with the instantly recognizable “doo, doo, doo-doo doo-doo’s” of the Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle.”
In fine, smoky voice, he finished his version of that 1976 hit and quipped: “I know you want it to be ‘Fly, Eagles, Fly,’ but you not going to get it. Not in this lifetime.”
For Seal’s mellow, sultry summer afternoon set, he was backed by a band that included West Philly native Gail Ann Dorsey, who previously toured frequently with David Bowie.
Fast-paced country
Louisiana-born country singer Jordan Davis — who was a late add to the One Philly concert lineup — has scored a number of country hits in recent years.
His music leans slightly toward rock and roll, taking a page out of arena-sized star Eric Church’s playbook. His slick 40-minute set was fast-paced, with hits like “Tucson Too Late,” and “Turn This Truck Around” coming in rapid succession as if Davis was worried that if he slowed down, Philly hip-hop and R&B fans would start to wonder what this country guy was doing singing in their city on its big July Fourth celebration.
Jill Scott gets in the groove — and then an evacuation
The evening found its groove after comedian Wanda Sykes introduced Jill Scott, the first hometown hero to take the stage, which pictured her on a video screen image framed by the purple outline of the Liberty Bell.
The crowd — complete with a contingent of French fans fresh from their team’s World Cup victory in Philadelphia earlier in the evening — filled out the area in front of the stage.
Jill Scott (left) and Tierra Whack on the stage at One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Philadelphia.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The size of the crowd, though, seemed several magnitudes smaller than the 300,000 that had been projected in advance to attend throughout the night. In fact, it was much more comfortable and less packed than during the years Jay-Z staged his Made in America festival on the Parkway, which was capped at 50,000.
Scott, who now lives in Nashville, seemed delighted to be back in her hometown. Looking radiant in a blue chambray dress and matching denim hat, Jilly from Philly thanked “the city that made me, the love that grew me, and the reason that I’m how I am right now.”
Fronting a funky eight-piece band — “This is live music,” she reminded the core at several junctures — Scott sampled classics from her catalog such as “A Long Walk.” She also shouted out Girls High and Temple University and also fondly recalled seeing Frankie Beverly & Maze perform at the Robin Hood Dell East as a girl.
She also sang a snippet of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” and thanked “these streets, hip-hop, a dollar cheesesteaks that kept me going.”
Scott’s set really caught fire when she called out “North Philly, baby!” And brought out Philly rapper Tierra Whack for a deliriously fun pas de deux on “Norf Side” from Scott’s new album, To Whom This May Concern.
At that point the crowd was looking ahead to three more hours of music before the 250th birthday fireworks scheduled for about midnight.
But instead, attendees were asked to leave the premises because of imminent severe weather.
The One Philly show was shown on NBC10 and streamed live on Paramount+.
This is the America’s 250th birthday and July 4 edition of This Week in Philly Music. Free music is all around, starting with The Roots, Jill Scott, Meek Mill, Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff, and more on the Ben Franklin Parkway. And tours featuring Molly Tuttle and Daniel Donato, Paul Simon, and Sarah McLachlan, and Allison Russell are also coming through town.
Thursday, July 2
Molly Tuttle & Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country
Two terrific country-flavored guitarists and bandleaders team up on the co-headlining bill. Guitarist and banjo picker Tuttle is touring behind her fifth album, So Long Little Miss Sunshine, which leans into country-pop and rock without leaving bluegrass behind. The 12-song set, largely cowritten with fiancé Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, includes a cover of Icona Pop’s ”I Love It.”
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country plays Heuser Park in King of Prussia on Thursday with Molly Tuttle on a co-headlining tour.Jason Stoltzfus
Donato is an electric guitar hero who was born in Atlantic City and moved to Nashville when he was 7. The author of The New Master of the Telecaster: Pathways to Dynamic Solos combines an affection for honky-tonk with Grateful Dead expansiveness. 6 p.m. Heuser Park, 694 West Beidler Road, King of Prussia, risingsunpresents.com/heuser-park/
Salute to Service with Queen Latifah
This free show has been pushed back to an 8 p.m. start to lessen the effects of the extreme heat. Along with rapper, actor, and singer Queen Latifah, it features the United States Army Field Band and Soldiers Chorus and Miss America 2026 Cassie Donegan.
The Bug Club
Welsh indie pop duo the Bug Club consists of songwriter Sam Willmet and Tilly Harris. They’ve released three albums on Seattle’s Sub-Pop label since 2024, and the most recent, Every Single Muscle, overflows with infectious energy and Welsh pride. Columbus, Ohio, family band Golomb, which records for Philly label No Quarter, opens. 8 p.m., Ukie Club, 847 N. Franklin St., 43333collective.com
Pissed Jeans
Allentown-born and Philly-based hard core punk band Pissed Jeans has been raising a ruckus for two decades, reaching back to the band’s 2005 debut, Shallow, through 2024’s raging Half-Divorced. The Matt Korvette-fronted band is playing a free show by the Delaware River waterfront. 6 p.m., Spruce Street Harbor Park, 301 S. Columbus Blvd., 4333Collective.com
Ursula Rucker will perform as part of the Red, White, & Blue To-Do.Courtesy of Ursula Rucker
Red, White, & Blue To-Do
When the Continental Congress announced its independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, John Adams predicted that would be the day that future Americans would celebrate “with pomp and parade.” The Red, White and Blue To-Do will make good on that prediction with free events all throughout the historic district.
The musical component is wide ranging and meant to reflect a multicultural American mosaic. Puerto Rican Bomba band Los Bomberos de la Calle and a Balkan brass outfit play the National Constitution Center. Americana folk singer-songwriter Sug Daniels will sing in Elfreth’s Alley. Rob Curto’s Brazilian band Forró for All will perform at the Weitzman Museum of National Jewish History, and hip-hop poet Ursula Rucker will be joined by Miles Orion at Arch Street Meeting House. Times vary, Philadelphia Historic District, visitphilly.com
Friday, July 3
Pop on Independence with Idina Menzel
The Broadway star of Rent, Wicked, Frozen, If/Then, and last year’s Redwood will sing with the Philly Pops in a rare (for her) orchestral concert. “It’s the most glorious experience, just standing up there in front of 80-some musicians and performing with them,” she told my colleague Rosa Cartagena. “There’s nothing like it.” This concert has also been pushed back to a later start due to the heat. 8 p.m., Independence Mall, 615 Chestnut St., july4thphilly.com
Christina Aguilera will headline the One Philly: Unity Concert for America, with Jill Scott, The Roots, Seal, Will Smith & Jazzy Jeff, and more.Courtesy of the Artist
Saturday, July 4
One Philly: Unity Concert for America
With France vs. Paraguay in the World Cup in South Philly and this seven-hour free show on the Ben Franklin Parkway, July 4 is an unprecedented day in Philadelphia for outsized events.
The headliner of the One Philly concert — this year produced by Philly’s ESM Productions, rather than Wawa Welcome America — is not from Philly. It’s Christina Aguilera. The Pittsburgher and former teen star is an intriguing Independence Day headliner at a time when American identity is being contested. She’s the daughter of an Ecuadorian immigrant father and has released two Spanish-language albums, including 2022’s Aguilera.
British singer Seal and rising New York family band Infinity Song are the other nonlocal acts. Other than that, it’s all Philly.
The rest — Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, Meek Mill, Beanie Sigel, and the State Property crew and Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge — will be backed by The Roots, whose drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, is credited as an executive producer of the event. Wanda Sykes hosts, and Gillie Da King & Wallo 267 will be on hand. Special guests are expected and fireworks go off around midnight. Free, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, july4philly.com
Freedom Festival with the Commodores
The Camden alternative to Philly’s 250th birthday celebration is a more low-key affair with the Commodores, the 1970s funk-soul and easy listening band once led by Lionel Richie, who’s been gone since 1982 (though he will be playing Xfinity Mobile Arena on July 16 with Earth, Wind & Fire). Cofounder William “WAK” King still leads the band, and he will funk it up with “Machine Gun” and “Brock House” before the fireworks go off. 6:30 p.m., Wiggins Waterfront Park, 2 Riverside Drive, Camden, america250.org
Paul Simon performs during “A Quiet Celebration” shows at the Academy of Music in June 2025.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sunday, July 5
Paul Simon
Paul Simon had planned to play three shows on his “A Quiet Celebration” tour at the Academy of Music last year, but the last two were canceled due to his bad back. Now, he’ll return and once again begin with his 33-minute-long 2023 album Seven Psalms in its entirety, followed by a lengthy greatest hit and deep cuts set. 8 p.m., TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann, 52nd and Parkside Ave., highmarkmann.org
Jason Newsted & the Chophouse
Jason Newsted spent 15 years in Metallica, playing bass in the biggest metal band in the world from 1986 to 2001. He’s on his first-ever tour with the Chophouse Band, with whom he promises to weave rock, country, and bluegrass with metal. 7:30 p.m., 118 North, 118 N. Wayne Ave, Wayne, 118NorthWayne.com
Allison Russell opens for Sarah McLachlan at the Highmark Mann on Tuesday.Dana Trippe
Tuesday, July 7
Sarah McLachlan & Allison Russell
Lilith Fair founder and “Building A Mystery” hitmaker McLachlan returned with Better Broken, her first album in nine years, in 2025. She’s joined by Russell, the Montreal-raised songwriter who raised her profile with 2020’s stunning Outside Child, and is a member of the Our Native Daughters supergroup. Russell’s third album, In the Hour of Chaos, which features guests including Norah Jones, Brittney Spencer, and Delco’s Devon Gilfillian, is due July 10. 8 p.m., TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann, 52nd and Parkside Ave., highmarkmann.org
Madison Beer
Madison Beer first gained notice at the age of 13 in 2012, when Justin Bieber posted a link to her cover of Etta James’ “At Last.” The pop singer is enjoying her biggest success with singles like “Yes Baby” and “Bittersweet” from her new Locket. Thuy and Lulu Simon open. 7:30 p.m., Met Philly, 858 N. Broad St., themetphilly.com
Sarah McLachlan poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)Matt Licari
In 2020, the Philadelphia DJ and producer — then a newly hired computer music professor at University of California, San Diego — created a course called “Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music.”
The popular class honors “people of color who pioneered groundbreaking genres within electronic music,” citing innovators like Sun Ra, Flying Lotus, and Philadelphia poet Moor Mother. Featured guests have included Herbie Hancock, Questlove, and Nile Rodgers.
It has also grown into a music festival: Britt has presented Blacktronika events in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Durham, N.C. And now, as part of ArtPhilly’s festival What Now: 2026, Britt has curated the series “Blacktronika: Philadelphia Now and Then.” It is supported with a $50,000 grant.
The Southwest Philly-raised artist, who founded the Ovum Recordings label with then musical partner Josh Wink, and created the Philly house and soul music project Sylk 130 in the 1990s, has a full week worth of musical history lessons in store for his hometown.
‘Illuminate just Philly’
“This is different from any other Blacktronika festival,” said Britt, 58, speaking via Zoom from the UC San Diego campus. “At all of the other Blacktronika events, I fly people in from all over the world,” said the DJ, who was born King James Britt. “For this one, I wanted to illuminate just Philly.”
King Britt is the curator for ArtPhilly’s “Blacktronika: Philadelphia Now and Then,” taking place for seven consecutive nights starting June 23.B
Britt’s personal connection to Philadelphia’s Afrofuturism goes back to when his mother, who was friendly with members of the Arkestra, would take him to rehearsals at the Sun Ra house in Germantown.
“I didn’t understand the music when I was a kid,” he said. “But I loved the costumes.”
The band members were all dressed in colorful space-age outfits.
A Central High School graduate, Britt was studying marketing at Temple when he dropped out as his career took off.
Working with Wink under the name E-Culture, the duo had an international deep house hit with “Tribal Confusion” in 1990, when Britt was the dance music buyer at the Tower Records store on South Street. He toured as DJ for the Grammy-winning hip-hop group Digable Planets early that decade and teamed with Wink for a long-running series at Fluid nightclub called “The Womb.”
Britt never thought of himself as an educator until an ex-girlfriend and his daughter, Summer Sloane-Britt, now an art professor at Occidental College, urged him to apply for the post at UC San Diego in 2019.
DJ King Britt at Filo’s downstairs club, 408 S. Second St., in 2000.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer
He did a Skype job interview while in Portugal for a gig, and though he doesn’t have an undergraduate degree, got hired on the basis of a lifetime of experience.
“My CV was 40 pages long,” he said. “It was crazy.”
Shortly after moving from Philly to Southern California, Britt realized that “no one was talking about Chicago house, Detroit techno, drum & bass, dub. Ninety percent of the dance music we listen to is rooted in Black culture. But the pedagogy was nonexistent. So I created Blacktronika.”
The course debuted with 20 students the first week of the COVID-19 lockdown, with guests including Greg Tate, the critic who Britt calls “my mentor.” Tate died in 2021; his seminal book Flyboy in the Buttermilk has just been reissued on Questlove’s AUWA imprint.
Now, Britt has 420 students for his virtual Blacktronika class. Interviews with guests like George Clinton, Patrice Rushen, and the Arkestra’s Allen and Knoel Scott are archived at Blacktronika.com.
He cited drummer Earl Young’s “development of the four-on-the-floor rhythmic approach that became foundational to Disco and later House music” and Dexter Wansel “expanding the sonic palette of Philadelphia International Records.”
The prof, who is working on a Blacktronika book, gives props to “the turntablism of Cash Money and Jazzy Jeff,” plus gangsta rap pioneer Schoolly D, as well as The Roots and their keyboard player James Poyser.
A homecoming
It was ArtPhilly cofounder Bill Adair who brought in Britt, says Tania Isaac, a curatorial director of the fest. Britt “is singular in terms of what he represents,” said Isaac. “Artists who are from Philly, whose work is grounded in Philly, but are global. We’re able to support artists coming home.”
Britt’s series kicks off at Fishtown cocktail lounge Margolis on Tuesday, spotlighting TastyTreats, the party hosted by Stacey “Flygirrl” Wilson. DJs Mike Nyce and Yameen Allworld will be joined by a just-announced special guest: DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Wednesday night’s Johnny Brenda’s showcase was designed as a tribute to Wansel, the songwriter and producer whose groundbreaking synth-centric album Life on Mars was released in 1976.
Wansel was scheduled to join a Philly all-star band with Black Buttafly on keys, Anthony Tidd on bass, Tim Motzer on guitar, Elliot Levin on sax, and singers Lady Alma and Tonja Dixon. Poet Ursula Rucker was also on the bill.
Wansel died last month at 75, so the inaugural Blacktronika Icon Award will be presented posthumously to his son, producer Pop Wansel. Black Music Month founder Dyana Williams will host.
On Sunday at Silk City, Tracey Moore of Jazzyfatnastees hosts a tribute to Black Lily, the neo-soul incubator that helped birth the careers of Jill Scott, John Legend, and others. That band will include many Wansel tribute players, plus punk rock skateboarder and drummer Chuck Treece.
Dozia Blakey and King Britt in Philadelphia in 1992. Britt, now a music professor at the University of California, San Diego, has curated the ArtPhilly festival “Blacktronika: Philadelphia Now and Then,” taking place over seven consecutive nights starting June 23, at venues throughout the city, including Margolis, Johnny Brenda’s, Kung Fu Necktie, Silk City, and ARS Nova Workshop at Solar Myth.Mpozi Tolbert
Britt will perform on Monday, when he’ll DJ and be joined by guests at Silk City, paying homage to Back2Basics, the party that blended DJs with instrumentation, which he created with Dozia Blakey in 1990.
And “Philadelphia Now and Then” is only part one of Britt’s plan to bring Blacktronika back to his hometown.
In November 2027, he’ll partner with the African American Museum in Philadelphia for “Tangible: Blacktronika Artifacts and Archives,” an exhibit funded by a $360,000 grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. That will be accompanied by a second Britt-curated Blacktronika festival, which he says will include artists “from all over the world.”
But before he brings the world to Philadelphia, “Philadelphia Now and Then” will first tell the story of how Blacktronika blossomed in his hometown.
“It’s important to honor all the parties that were pushing the sonics, the sound of electronic Blackness in Philly,” Britt said. “From Philly, born in Philly, all the musicians are Philly. Everything’s Philly.”
King Britt’s “Blacktronika: Philadelphia Now and Then” takes place daily from Tuesday, June 23, to Monday, June 29, at venues across the city. Information at artphilly.org.
Summer music is here in earnest, and the majority of the concerts on this curated list of highlights in a jam-packed season are happening outdoors.
Besides those featured below, there are still more: like Coltrane 100: Legacy featuring Ravi Coltrane with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Highmark Mann on July 22, or Ed Sheeran on Sept. 19 and AC/DC on Sept. 29, both at Lincoln Financial Field.
Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan throws a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs in 2024 in Boston. Kahan plays Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on June 26. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)Michael Dwyer
Noah Kahan
June 26, Citizens Bank Park
Noah Kahan broke through big-time with his 2022 album Stick Season, which the Vermont songwriter, who grew up on a tree farm, described as “a love letter to New England.” His new The Great Divide, produced with Gabe Simon and the National’s Aaron Dessner, is even huger. New Jersey’s Gigi Perez and Wayne’s Annabelle Dinda open. mlb.com/phillies/noah-kahan
River Roads Music Festival
June 27, Heuser Park
Dar Williams’ River Roads Music Festival has found a home in Heuser Park, the King of Prussia space that accommodates crowds larger than the nearby Concerts Under the Stars series (which has choice shows with Nasir Dickerson’s Coltrane tribute July 11, Preservation Hall Jazz Band on July 23, and Joan Osborne on Aug. 7). Williams co-headlines River Roads with 10,000 Maniacs, and the bill includes English punk-folk firebrand Billy Bragg and superb songwriter Amythyst Kiah. risingsunpresents.com
Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
All summer
The lineup at the Camden amphitheater with a lawn’s eye view of Center City spans genres. Hardy’s “The Country! Country! Tour!” is June 27, Dave Matthews Band’s two-night stand is July 10-11, and Tim McGraw plays July 23. Fresh from the Roots Picnic, Kehlani is Aug. 26, Chris Stapleton’s “All-American Road Show” arrives Aug. 28-29, and TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue team up Sept. 13. FreedomMortgagePavilion.com
DJ Jazzy Jeff during the second day of the Roots Picnic on May 31 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
One Philly: Unity Concert For America
July 4, Ben Franklin Parkway
Pittsburgh-raised Christina Aguilera tops the bill of the free 250th birthday party concert, and British pop star Seal and New York family band Infinity Song are toward the bottom. Otherwise, it’s an all-Philly affair with Jill Scott, plus the Roots performing and serving as a backup band for Will Smith. Then there’s DJ Jazzy Jeff, State Property, Kathy Sledge, and more. phila.gov
Paul Simon was supposed to play three shows on his “A Quiet Celebration” tour at the Academy of Music last year, but the final two were canceled due to his bad back. Now he’s back, in a larger space, and, as always, with a stellar band. highmarkmann.org
Patti LaBelle performs during the “Victory at Sea” concert at the Temple Performing Arts Center in 2025. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Patti LaBelle
July 9, Dell Music Center
The highlight of the Dell season is this America 250 concert with hometown hero LaBelle, who will be joined by Chester, Pa., Grammy-winning R&B singer Avery Sunshine. The Isley Brothers on Aug. 6 are also standouts on the old school R&B and hip-hop calendar. DellMusicCenter.com
Camden County Concerts
All summer, Cooper River Park, Haddon Lake Park, and Wiggins Park
Across the river on the Jersey side, multiple concert series feature national and local acts. The Haddon Lake Park Sundown Music Series has Delco native Devon Gilfillian on June 24 and Young Gun Silver Fox on Aug. 12. Cooper River Park presents Color Me Badd July 9, and Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band on July 16. And Wiggins Park has Will Calhoun celebrating Miles Davis on Aug. 24. They’re all free. camdencounty.com
Megan Moroney performing in Nashville in 2025. The country singer will headline Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly in July. John Shearer / Getty Images
Megan Moroney
July 11, Xfinity Mobile Arena
The country songwriter, with sharp words for foolhardy dudes, is on her first arena tour behind her album Cloud 9. The presence of Musgraves and Ed Sheeran on the album shows how big a star Moroney has become. XfinityMobileArena.com
Todd Rundgren
July 11-12, Keswick Theatre
Upper Darby’s own reluctant Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is playing the hits. The “Damned If I Do” tour is subtitled “The Fan-Favorite Classics Return.” So get ready to “bang on the drum all day.” KeswickTheatre.com
Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts
All summer
Acts hitting the under-the-gazebo stage on the Main Line include Shovels & Rope on July 12, John Gorka on July 24, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams with Mutlu on July 31, and Mdou Moctar on Sept. 11. brynmawrtwlightconcerts.com
Bob Dylan
July 14, TD Pavilion at the Highmark Mann
The world’s greatest living songwriter, who turned 85 this year, has been pulling surprises out of his hat of late, playing long-neglected songs like “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” Jimmie Vaughan & the Tilt-A-Whirl Band and Brittney Spencer are also on the bill. highmarkmann.org
Lionel Richie at Union Transfer on March 29, 2025. Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer
Ben Gibbard and Death Cab For Cutie sparkled at the NonCommvention this spring. The band is touring behind their excellent new I Built You a Tower, with Philly proud Michelle Zauner and Japanese Breakfast opening. HighmarkMann.org
Pavement will headline Connor Barwin’s Make The World Better Concert Weekend on Friday July 24 at the Dell Music Center.Courtesy of the Artist
Make The World Better Concert Weekend
July 24-25, Dell Music Center
After a year at FDR Park, former Eagle Connor Barwin’s fundraising event for his MTWB Foundation is back at the Dell. The Strawberry Mansion weekend’s bang-bang lineup features Pavement and Ratboys followed by Kurt Vile and the Violators with They Are Gutting A Body of Water and Twisted Teens. r5productions.com
Jill Scott is playing on the Ben Franklin Parkway on July Fourth and has four shows at the Met Philly later that month.Kennedi Carter
Jill Scott
July 24-25, and July 27 and July 29, The Met Philly
Multiple concerts will bring music to the Delaware River waterfront. Wild Pink plays July 23, Spirit of the Beehive is July 24, Snacktime plays Aug. 14. The 502s are Aug. 1, Ripe is Aug. 29, and Folk Bitch Trio is Sept. 26. delawareriverwaterfront.com
Morgan Wallen
July 31-Aug. 1, Lincoln Financial Field
The Sneedville, Tenn., country superstar’s South Philly weekend on his “Still The Problem” tour teams him with Brooks & Dunn on his first night at the Linc. Night two looks more enticing, with Ella Langley, whose Dandelion is the biggest country album of 2026. LincolnFinancialField.com
Dinner Party
Aug. 2, Heuser Park
Dinner Party, the supergroup that features adventurous jazz-funk-soul-hip-hop hyphenate Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, and Terrace Martin, have all of one date listed on their 2026 calendar. It’s in King of Prussia, with Digable Planets opening. RisingSunPresents.com/heuser-park
Lyle Lovett performs at the Lansdowne Theater on March 12.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Lyle Lovett & Esperanza Spalding
Aug. 4-6 and Aug. 25-26, City Winery
Two of the coolest, coziest indoor gigs of the summer. Lyle Lovett plays solo and tells tales in a three-night “Songs & Stories” stand. Then Esperanza Spalding, the jazz bassist and composer, plays two nights with her full band. citywinery.com/philadlelphia
Silvana Estrada plays Longwood Gardens on Aug. 13.Jesus Soto Fuentes
Arooj Aftab & Silvana Estrada
July 29 & Aug. 13, Longwood Gardens
World class global music-making women coming to Chester County. Arooj Aftab is a Pakistani American composer whose transporting 2024 album Night Reign features Chocolate Genius, Kaki King, and Philadelphians Moor Mother and Cautious Clay. Silvana Estrada, who grew up in rural Mexico, shines on Vendrán Suaves Lluvias, a luminous mixture of folk, jazz, and traditional Mexican musical forms. longwoodgardens.org
Jon Batiste performs at the Met in Philadelphia on Oct. 30, 2025.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Jon Batiste
Aug. 14, Highmark Mann
Jon Batiste’s joyous show at the Met Philly last fall ended with New Orleans’ second line parade out of the theater and onto Poplar Street. The bandleader will bring the life-affirming spirit of his 2025 album Big Money to Fairmount Park. HighmarkMann.org
Philadelphia Folk Festival
Aug. 14-16, Old Pool Farm
The storied Philly Folk Fest returns for its 63rd year with a lineup that includes progressive bluegrass innovator Sam Bush, tough-minded songwriter Mary Gauthier, brilliantly witty tunesmith Robbie Fulks, blue guitar wiz Eddie 9V, folk troubadour Tom Rush, and Philly’s the Tisburys. John Flynn will perform and emcee. FolkFest.org.
Mannequin Pussy’s Marisa Dabice performs at Union Transfer in 2024. The Philly band is scheduled to open for the Foo Fighters this summer.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Foo Fighters
Aug. 13, Lincoln Financial Field
The “Take Cover” tour brings Dave Grohl’s stadium rock band to the Linc behind the new Your Favorite Toy. It’s the band’s first time here with new drummer Ilan Rubin, who replaced Josh Freese, who briefly replaced Taylor Hawkins after his death in 2022. Openers are Queens of the Stone Age and Philly punks Mannequin Pussy, getting a deserved spot on the big stage. LincolnFinancialField.com
Rush
Aug. 21 & 23, Xfinity Mobile Arena
Rush fans are over the moon about the reunion of the Canadian prog-rock group. Core members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are back, with Loren Gold on keyboards and more importantly, new drummer Anika Nilles, who has won universal praise for taking on the daunting task of stepping in for Neil Peart, who died in 2020. XfinityMobileArena.com
Bruno Mars in Las Vegas on “Bruno Mars Day.” (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)Steve Marcus
Bruno Mars
Sept. 1-2, Lincoln Financial Field
The hits never stop coming for Bruno Mars, from “Just The Way You Are” in 2010 to his “Die With A Smile” with Lady Gaga and “APT” with Rosé in 2024. Fabulous British vocalist Raye opens, as does DJ Pee .Wee, who is Mars’ Silk Sonic partner Anderson .Paak in disguise. LincolnFinancialField.com
Kacey Musgraves
Sept. 4, Xfinity Mobile Arena
The Texas singer has circled back to her country roots on her self-reflecting new album Middle of Nowhere, which features collabs with Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings, and Philadelphia-raised singer Gregory Alan Isakov. XfinityMobileArena.com
Charli xcx performs during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Saturday, June 28, 2025. She opens her ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ tour in Philadelphia on Sept. 11. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)Scott A Garfitt
Charli XCX
Sept. 11, Xfinity Mobile Arena
Charli XCX is covering all the bases with her new album Music, Fashion, Film, which represents those realms with contributions from John Cale, Marc Jacobs, and Martin Scorsese. (Yes, really.) She opens her tour for the album, which drops July 24, in Philly. XfinityMobileArena.com
Angine de Poitrine plays Underground Arts on Sept. 16.Constantin Monfilliette
Angine de Poitrine
Sept. 16, Underground Arts
The masked Canadian math-rockers who hide their identities but not their musical prowess, are doing a UA basement show before returning to play Franklin Music Hall on Nov. 20. UndergroundArts.org
The WXPN-FM (88.5) weekend at Wiggins Park in Camden features headliners Dawes, Little Feat, Portugal. The Man, plus S.G. Goodman, Te Vista, Cyril Neville playing the Grateful Dead, Madison Cunningham, Sierra Hull, Rebirth Brass Band, and more. xpn.org/xpnfest
This week in Philly music features a DJ Jazzy Jeff Juneteenth block party, country star Charley Crockett at the Met, Meek Mill’s Lit in AC show down the Shore, rock and roll legend Dion in Glenside, a classic reggae band on the Main Line, and a terrific Spoon and the Beths double bill in Fishtown.
Wednesday, June 17
Black Uhuru
The band was founded in Kingston, Jamaica by Derrick “Duckie” Simpson and built a global audience with albums like Sinsemilla in 1980 and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner in 1983. Its body of work from that decade places the band in the pantheon of the great reggae groups of all time. With Ear Me Now. 8 p.m., 118 North, 118 N. Wayne Ave., Wayne, 118NorthWayne.com
Brother Wallace plays a free show in Malvern on Wednesday. Hana Snow
Brother Wallace
West Point, Ga., native Brother Wallace’s music exudes a joyous, Southern soul energy. He impressed this spring at a WXPN-FM (88.5) Free at Noon and the Non-Commvention and now he is playing the free Chill on the Hill concert series in Malvern. Philly-based Mexican Japanese art rockers Kikashima open. 6:30 p.m., Valley Creek Park, 361 N. Morehall Road, Malvern, EastWhiteland.org
Basic
Basic is the self-titled sophomore release on No Quarter records from the experimental rock trio featuring Philly guitarist Chris Forsyth, who also fronts the Solar Motel Band, and the Neil Young jam band Coca Leaves & Pearls. The group, named in honor of a 1984 project by Robert Quine and Fred Maher, rides a mighty groove of improvised music and includes drummer and percussionist Mikel Patrick Avery and bassist Douglas McCombs. Victor Viera Branco’s Bark Culture and Emily Robb’s the ER Band also play. 8 p.m., Johnny Brenda’s, 10201 N. Frankford Ave., johnnybrendas.com
From left: Chris Forsyth, Mikel Patrick Avery, and Doug McCombs of Basic. The band plays Johnny Brenda’s on Wednesday.Linette Messina
Wednesday, June 17 and Thursday, June 18
Paul Thorn
Like Elvis Presley and Diplo, Paul Thorn hails form Tupelo, Miss. The Southern rock, country, and blues songwriter — and former middleweight boxer, who once fought Roberto Duran in Atlantic City — is out with his latest album. Life Is a Vapor is partly inspired by eating ice cream with John Prine. 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sellersville Theater, 18 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville, st94.com and 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Levoy Theatre, 126 N. High St., Millville, N.J., levoy.net.
Algernon Cadwallader
Philly emo band Algernon Cadwallader released Trying Not to Have a Thought, its first album in 14 years, last September. Now the band is playing two hometown shows before touring England later this month. 7:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, Ruba Club, 415 Green St., algernoncadwallader.com
Thursday, June 18
Dion
At Bruce Springsteen’s “Music America: The Songs That Shaped Us concerts” this month in New Jersey, Dion DiMucci displayed both his 1950s rock and roll beginnings and his 1960s folk rock transformation with “The Wanderer” and “Abraham, Martin and John.” For this show, he’s billed as “The Rock N’ Roll Philosopher.” 8 p.m., Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, keswicktheatre.com.
Philly emo band Algernon Cadwallader plays two shows at the Ruba Club this week. Scott Toyan
Inara George
One half of the Bird & the Bee, Los Angeles songwriter and song interpreter Inara George is always up to something intriguing. Her new album, Songs of Douglas and Littell, is a gorgeously executed collection spotlighting Los Angeles theater veterans Eliot Douglass and Philip Littell. 7:30 p.m., The Loft at City Winery, 990 Filbert St., CityWinery.com/philadelphia
Fiery Furnaces
Last year, experimental art-rock sibling band the Fiery Furnaces reissued its 2004 breakthrough Blueberry Boat. Now, singer Eleanor and keyboard player Matthew Friedberger are on a limited tour, with Philly being the last of only six headlining dates. 8 p.m., Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square, r5productions.com
DJ Jazzy Jeff performing at the Plateau Stage at The Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, on Saturday, May 30, 2026. He spins at the African American Museum’s Juneteenth block party on Friday.Tyger Williams
Friday, June 19
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Alynda Lee Segarra, the Puerto Rican songwriter and activist who leads Hurray for the Riff Raff, was born in the Bronx and spent 20 years in New Orleans before recently relocating to Chicago. The band’s 2024 studio album, The Past Is Still Alive, nods to Bob Dylan and William Faulkner, and the new Live Forever was recorded at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. 8 p.m., Concerts Under the Stars, 175 W. Valley Forge Road, King of Prussia, concertsunderthestarskop.com
Sound of History
Philly musicians Zeek Burse and Laurin Talese’s Sound of History project grew out of residencies at the Museum of the American Revolution. Their Juneteenth performance piece is in partnership with ArtPhilly and Black Music City. Free at Noon, World Stage, 3025 Walnut St., xpn.org and 6 p.m., Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. Third St., artphilly.com/projects/sound-of-history
Juneteenth Block Party with DJ Jazzy Jeff
DJ Jazzy Jeff — who will be reuniting with Will Smith on the Ben Franklin Parkway in July — headlines this free outdoor event. Also on the daytime show: rappers Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh and singer Leah Jenea. Patty Jackson is the emcee. Noon, African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch St., July4Philly.com
Los Lobos & Los Lonely Boys
“Let’s get Los. The Brotherhood Tour” pairs Los Lobos, the great Chicano band from East L.A. (that also features Steve Berlin, a Jewish guy from Philly, on saxophone) with Los Lonely Boys, the “Texican” rock and roll, brown-eyed soul band from San Angelo, Texas. 8 p.m., Tropicana Showroom, 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, caesars.com/tropicana-ac
Saturday, June 20
Meek Mill’s Lit in AC
Father’s Day weekend down the Shore with Meek Mill: The Philly “Dreams and Nightmares” rapper is the headliner on a multi-act bill that includes T.I. Eve, Havoc of Mobb Deep, Shyne, and Ms. Jade. 7 p.m., Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, boardwalkhall.com.
Kinkstravaganza
Celebrating 60 years of British Invasion greats the Kinks, this benefit includes the 1971 album Muswell Hillbillies played in its entirety. Wesley Stace, Adam Weiner, John Faye, Roberta Faceplant, the No Good Crowd, and Citizen Riot are among the performers. Proceeds go to Juntos, the South Philly Latino immigrant organization. 8 p.m., The Fallser Club, 3721 Midvale Ave., thefallserclub.org.
Charley Crockett plays the Met Philly on Monday.Courtesy of the Artist
Monday, June 22
Del Amitri
Scottish rock band Del Amitri, which scored 1990s hits like “Roll to Me” and “Nothing Ever Happens,” is touring the U.S., timed to the Scottish soccer team’s East Coast World Cup dates. The Tisburys open. 7:30 p.m., Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., undergroundarts.org.
Charley Crockett
Super-prolific country singer Charley Crockett is a busy guy. He’s released 17 albums since 2015, including Age of the Ram and Clovis this year. Last summer, his tour with fellow Texan Leon Bridges was one of most rewarding of the season. 8 p.m., Met Philly, 858 N. Broad St., themetphilly.com
Spoon plays the Fillmore on Tuesday, with The Beths.Olivia Wolf
Tuesday, June 23
The Animeros
Austin, Texas instrumental band the Animeros were standouts at the NonCommvention this year. Their self-described sound moves “between the lush jungles of Colombia, the palm-lined streets of 1960s coastal Mexico, and the dusty cantinas of West Texas.” They’re signed to Black Keys leader Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound label. 8 p.m., Ortlieb’s, 847 N. Third St., ortiebsphilly.com
Spoon & The Beths
A top-notch double bill. Spoon, the remarkably consistent indie band from Austin, Texas, is led by Britt Daniel and Jim Eno. They are playing with New Zealand indie power pop outfit The Beths, led by Elizabeth Stokes, whose 2025 album Straight Line Was a Lie was one of the year’s best. 8 p.m., Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St., thefilllmorephilly.com
Back in 2000, when New Jersey musician and superstar producer-to-be Jack Antonoff played a show in Philadelphia with his teenage band Outline, the group stopped at a Wawa to fill Antonoff’s parents’ van with gas.
As fate would have it, the song playing at the gas pump was “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely,” the 1974 recording by Philly soul group Blue Magic, co-written by Bobby Eli, guitarist in Sigma Sound Studios house band MFSB.
That Wawa pull up is immortalized in “The Van,” a song on Everyone for Ten Minutes, the new album by Antonoff’s band Bleachers, which will bring its “Bleachers Forever” tour to the TD Pavilion at the Highmark Mann in Fairmount Park on Saturday night.
Speaking via Zoom from New York the night after a tour date in Montreal this week, Antonoff said, in retrospect, he realized that “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely” crystalized a theme that’s run through his life and work.
“At the time, I wasn’t articulating it to myself,” said the songwriter, whose client list as a producer starts with Taylor Swift and includes Lorde, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey, and Doja Cat.
(He’s been named producer of the year three times and has won 14 Grammys in total.)
“But now that I look back on it, the idea of leaving [on tour], and the Blue Magic song, and we’re all sitting there and no one knows how to pump gas because we’re from Jersey: what ties us all together is not wanting to be lonely.
“It’s a funny way to encapsulate what it is to choose the life I’ve chosen. But one thread between all of us is — whether it’s with each other in the van or with our audience — it’s a group of people with a fear of loneliness.”
“The Van” is a celebration of the camaraderie of playing music together and belongs to an autobiographical album about how “a kid in the shadows” like Antonoff, who grew up in Bergen County in North Jersey, found his people.
The song and the album are also a celebration of Antonoff’s marriage to actor Margaret Qualley, whom he married in 2023 on Long Beach Island, where the couple chiefly resides.
Of course, Antonoff is Jersey proud.
On Everyone, he sings about LBI as a place with restorative qualities. “Maybe that’s why my mom stays down at the Shore most of the time,” he sings. “We’re always meeting her there to breathe … it’s nice to get a break from that cynical beat.”
Every year, Bleachers headlines the Shadow of the City festival at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. This year’s Memorial Day weekend edition was rained out, so the band played a free show inside the Pony, with the full performance now posted on YouTube.
Shadow of the City — which along with Bleachers and a TBA lineup also features “The World Famous SoTC Dunk Tank” — has been rescheduled for Aug. 28.
“Music, to me, is very location based,” said Antonoff. “I’ve always felt like I’ve spent my life going around the world just to show people what it feels like to be where I’m from.”
Qualley, The Substance and Blue Moon star whose upcoming starring roles include Ridley Scott’s sci-fi thriller The Dog Star and Rachel Morrison’s romantic drama Love of Your Life, is ever present on Everyone.
She’s on Antonoff’s mind in “Dirty Wedding Dress,” “She’s From Before,” and “You and Forever,” where she plays with her dog while waiting for her husband to come home in the video.
Antonoff’s first meeting with Qualley on the rooftop of New York’s Electric Lady Studios — which Del Rey sang about in “Margaret” — is evoked in the last verse of “The Van.” The two realizing that, like Blue Magic, they “just don’t want to be lonely.”
In March, in advance of Everyone’s release, Antonoff did a solo Bleachers Free at Noon gig at World Stage and performed “The Van” in the city that inspired it.
Since he wrote that song, Antonoff said, he’s been waiting for “the day I get to play it in Philly. Trust me, I am jumping out of my skin to do that.”
He put in many years in indie bands before becoming collaborator of choice for the world’s biggest pop stars. In the ’00s, he released five albums with his band Steel Train, before joining Fun. with Nate Ruess, and breaking big with “We Are Young,” a duet between Ruess and Janelle Monáe.
Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift react as Swift wins the award for best pop vocal album for “Midnights” during the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Chris Pizzello
The next year, he teamed with Swift to cowrite and coproduce “Sweeter Than Fiction,” from the soundtrack of One Chance: The Incredible True Story of Paul Potts.
Then, in 2014, Fun. split up and Antonoff formed Bleachers, and worked with Swift on four songs on her album 1989, which many consider to be her best. Swift, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York this week, “was about the first one who said ‘we’re not going to hire a big-name producer.’”
“It’s like that joke about the SAG card,” Antonoff said, referring to the Screen Actors Guild. “You can only get one if you’re in a SAG production, and you can only get in a SAG production if you have a SAG card.”
“Music can be that way,” he said, “I always had clear, deep feelings about what I was doing with the work I was making. But it was very hard to break in because you needed some big cosign.”
Now, of course, Antonoff is the big-name producer. “I’ve been very fortunate,” he said.
Bleachers play the TD Pavilion at the Highmark Mann Center on Saturday. Back of window: Zem Audu. Second row in window: Sean Hutchinson, Michael Riddleberger. First row: Mikey Freedom Hart, Jack Antonoff, Evan SmithAlex Lockett
But there’s also been online backlash. Google him and the first question asked is “Why don’t we like Jack Antonoff?”
The AI answer blames him for “dulling the edges” of his collaborators because “his signature sound has become repetitive or overly minimalist” with “atmospheric echoes” and “lingering synths.”
“I Knew It, I Knew You,” Swift’s new Toy Story 5 single that Antonoff co-wrote, seems intent on countering that criticism. On it, Antonoff plays guitars, percussion, drums, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, celesta, and Mellotron.
Everyone is full of joy, but also copes with loss.
“I Can’t Believe You’re Gone” is about living with the grief over Antonoff’s younger sister, Sarah, who died from brain cancer at age 14.
“My whole career has been revisiting that through a different lens,” he told Pitchfork in 2021. In “I Can’t Believe You’re Gone,” he sings, “these hope-filled lies, these unearned traditions / If you repeat them enough, you can live with someone you’re missing.”
“It’s about loss,” Antonoff said of the song. “It’s kind of a choose-your-own-ending when it comes to grief.”
A handful of shows into the Bleachers tour, Antonoff said he’s been confronted with something he tends to forget when he’s off the road for too long. “Whenever I start a tour, there’s this completely life-affirming reminder that I have no ability to pace myself and every show is just like the last night on earth.”
“Every night has to be pushed to the brink of everything. So I’m pushing the band to the brink, myself, the audience … You wake up the next day and you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck. And you should. Fried and happy. It’s kinda my favorite feeling in the world.”
He has one more thing to add: “I cannot f— wait to get to Philly. That’s a place that has always had our back.”
Bleachers Forever with Hovvdy at the TD Pavilion at the Highmark Mann, 5201 Parkside Ave., at 8 p.m. Saturday. highmarkmann.org.
This week in Philly music features Bleachers at the Highmark Mann, the Wayne Music Festival on the Main Line, the Indigo Girls in King of Prussia, Ryan Bingham in Fishtown, Tyler Childers in Hershey, Audrey Hobert at the Met, and Nick Jonas, Devo, and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie in Atlantic City.
Wednesday, June 10
Ryan Bingham
Ryan Bingham has been making rough-cut traditional-leaning country music going back to his 2008 Mescalito debut, but it took him years playing a singing ranch hand on Yellowstone for him to gain a wide audience. Now that the show has run its course, the New Mexico-born singer and actor is back out on the road with his band, the Texas Gentlemen, touring behind his seventh album, They Call Us the Lucky Ones. 8 p.m., The Fillmore, 29 E. Allen St., thefillmorephilly.com
Jobi Riccio opens for Deer Tick at Underground Arts on Wednesday. Her new album is “Face the Feeling.”Rett Rogers
Audrey Hobert
Audrey Hobert co-wrote six songs on Gracie Abrams’ 2024 album The Secret of Us. And the former writer for Nickelodeon sitcom The Really Loud House — which was developed by her father, Tim Hobert — wrote or co-wrote all 12 songs on her 2025 Who’s the Clown? debut, which was produced by Ricky Gourmet. It features a song called “Phoebe” that is not about Phoebe Bridgers but Lisa Kudrow’s character in Friends. 8:30 p.m., Met Philly, 858 N. Broad St., themetphilly.com
Deer Tick
Providence, R.I., roots rock quartet Deer Tick digs into the history of its hometown on its stylistically varied new Coin-O-Matic. The album is named after the vending machine company that was the headquarters for notorious mobster Raymond Patriarca. Colorado-born opener Jobi Riccio’s sophomore album, Face the Feeling, is one of the best albums of the first half of 2026. Deer Tick also plays a WXPN Free at Noon on Friday. 8 p.m., Wednesday, Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill, undergroundarts.org and noon, Friday, World Stage, 3025 Walnut St. xpn.org
Tyler Childers sings Sept. 24, 2025, at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden. He plays Hersheypark Stadium on Thursday.David Hernandez / For The Inquirer
Thursday, June 11
Tyler Childers
Country star Tyler Childers put on a thrilling show at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion last September, and the “Snipe Hunt Tour” — for the Kentucky songwriter’s 2025 album, Snipe Hunter — is making one last pass through the area with a show in Hershey. “IDK S— About Cars” singer Evan Honer opens. 8 p.m., Hersheypark Stadium, 100 Hershey Park Drive, Hershey, hersheyentertainment.com
Philly songwriter Alex Savoth’s new album is “Midnight Sun.”Courtesy of the Artist
Alex Savoth
Stereo League, the Philly band that Alex Savoth leads with Dan King, is still a thing. But Savoth’s songwriting takes a more personal approach on Midnight Sun, his first solo album, which finds him moving in a warm-hearted, ruminative country-tinged songs direction, is produced by bassist Brendan McGeehan. Savoth stretches himself impressively as a vocalist on “Wild Sweet Love,” steel guitarist Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner is all over the album, and the accordion on “Bound to Be” is played by Rob Hyman of the Hooters. Max Davey, who impressed at last month’s Bob Dylan Birthday Bash, opens, along with James Clark. 8 p.m., Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., johnnybrendas.com
Friday, June 12
Indigo Girls
In April, the Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers announced that she’s been diagnosed with two movement disorders that have had a significant effect on her singing, making it impossible for her to hold the long clear notes that are a hallmark of her harmonizing with musical partner Amy Ray. The announcement made by Saliers, who made her entry into musical theater with Starstruck (which premiered at the Bucks County Playhouse this winter), has been met with support from fans, including Brandi Carlile. “To say that we have Emily’s back is the understatement of the century,” Carlile posted on social media. Brian Dunne of Fantastic Cat opens. 7 p.m., Concerts Under the Stars, 175 Valley Forge Road, King of Prussia, concertsunderthestarskop.com
Robyn Hitchcock
Surrealist British songwriter writes clever and catchy songs that put his vivid imagination into play, and he mixes psychedelia with garage rock and a fixation on fish. His most recent album is 2024’s 1967: Vacations in the Past, a collection of covers from that year. He’s touring with an electric band that includes Philadelphia drummer Patrick Berkery. Emma Swift, whose set will likely include some Bob Dylan songs from her 2020 album, Blonde on the Tracks, will open and sing with Hitchcock. 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, ArdmoreMusicHall.com
FILE – Gerald Casale, (from left), Josh Hager, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Bob Mothersbaugh of Devo perform Jan. 22, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)Chris Pizzello
Devo
Devo is one of those bands that keep threatening to retire, and happily haven’t done so. Two years after the Mark Mothersbaugh-led Ohio band known for “Whip It” and “Wonderful World” kicked off their “50 Years of Devolution” farewell tour, the band known for wearing jumpsuits and flower pots on their heads is back in Atlantic City. 8 p.m., Event Center, Borgata, borgata.mgmresorts.com
Saturday, June 13
Wayne Music Festival
This year’s headliner at the free fest in downtown Wayne is Cracker, David Lowery, and Johnny Hickman’s rock band, which scored hits with “Low” and “Euro-Trash Girl” in the 1990s. Music will happen on three outdoor stages, plus inside 118 North. Highlights are likely to include John Faye, viral a cappella sensations the Tonics, and Philly bands Nik Greeley & the Operators, Roberta Faceplant, and Lazy Villains. Plus, Oklahoma hotshot guitarist Johnny Mullenax. 1 p.m., North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, waynemusicfestival.com
FILE – Jack Antonoff from the band Bleachers performs on NBC’s “Today” show on July 4, 2024. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)Charles Sykes
Bleachers
Jack Antonoff is producer to the stars — Taylor Swift, Lorde, Sabrina Carpenter, Lana Del Rey, St. Vincent, and Kendrick Lamar among them. The New Jersey singer-guitarist and former member of Fun also fronts Bleachers, whose fifth album Everyone for Ten Minutes, was released last month. Their song “The Van” contains a sample of Philly soul band Blue Magic’s “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely.” In March, Antonoff charmed in a one-man Bleachers Free at Noon show. Hovvdy open. 8 p.m. TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann, 5201 Parkside Ave., highmarkmann.org
Sun Ra Arkestra
In the Orbit of Ra, a new Mural Arts Philadelphia artwork, will be unveiled Saturday between noon and 3 p.m. at 6353 Greene St. in East Germantown. That’s not far from the Morton Street house where Sun Ra moved the Arkestra in 1968 and where 102-year-old bandleader Marshall Allen still resides. Then on Saturday night, the band will celebrate with a show at City Winery. Noon, 6353 Greene St., muralarts.org and 8 p.m., City Winery Philadelphia, 990 Filbert St., citywinery.com/philadelphia
Marshall Allen (second from right), performs with Sun Ra Arkestra at the Union Transfer on Friday, May 24, 2024.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie was born to be an artist. Quite literally: The Bronx rapper’s given name is Artist Julius Dubose. He’s the Father’s Day weekend main hip-hop attraction at the Shore, where he’ll headline Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in support of his new EP, Before Artistry. Openers are Hunxho and JI the Prince. 8 p.m., Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, boardwalkhall.com
Nick Jonas in New York, May 19, 2026. With a starring role in “Power Ballad” and ambitions across mediums, the 33-year-old is carving a singular path. (OK McCausland/The New York Times)OK MCCAUSLAND
Nick Jonas
Last weekend, due to an interruption in Amtrak service, Nick Jonas made an unexpected stopped at Bardea in Wilmington for a meal. On Saturday, he’ll make a planned visit to Atlantic City to finish off his “A Night With Nick” tour in support of his new album, Sunday Best. 8 p.m., Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, 1000 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, casino.hardrock.com/atlantic-city
Philly band Flight of Mavis play 118 North in Wayne on Saturday. Their new album is “Mavis Sings Mavis.”Courtesy of the Artist
Flight of Mavis
Frank Brown has been writing jangly, wistful, and immediately memorable power-pop songs for a variety of Philly bands for decades now. That list includes the likes of Buzz Zeemer and Travel Lanes. The first of those, Flight of Mavis, last released an album in 1989. But now there’s a terrific new one called Mavis Sings Mavis, with an album cover that nods to Harry Nilsson’s 1970 Nilsson Sings Newman. It reunites Brown with drummer Ken Buono, bass player Dave McElroy, plus guitarist John Cunningham. The quartet plays a show — it’s a matinee! — in Wayne ln Sunday. 2 p.m., 118 North, 118 N. Wayne Ave., Wayne, 118NorthWayne.com
That’s how Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast announced her pregnancy on Instagram on Monday — with an added exclamation point — after performing with a quite visible baby bump at the Governors Ball in New York’s Flushing Meadows Corona Park over the weekend.
The Crying in H Mart author, for whom the coat check at Philly venue Union Transfer is named (she used to work there), has two more festival dates scheduled this month: at Bonnaroo in Tennessee and the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco.
Then Zauner kicks off a tour opening for Death Cab for Cutie at the Highmark Mann in Philadelphia on July 17. She’s playing in support of her 2025 album, Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women).
Zauner, who grew up in Eugene, Oregon, founded Japanese Breakfast in 2013 while living in Philadelphia and also leads the band Little Big League.
Melancholy is the follow-up to her 2021 album, Jubilee, which earned her two Grammy nominations.
The H Mart grocery store cited in the title of her book — a book about grieving her mother, Chongmi, and exploring her Korean identity through food — is in Elkins Park.
The songwriter and author, who is a Bryn Mawr College graduate, is married to guitarist and keyboard player Peter Bradley. They were married in 2014.
Last year, Zauner guested on the song “NamgungFefere” by the South Korean band Silica Gel and also recorded her own song “My Baby (Got Nothing at All)” for the soundtrack of the Dakota Johnson-starring movie Materialists.
She’s also written a screenplay for a film version of Crying in H Mart. In 2022, it was announced that actor Will Sharpe — currently starring as Mozart in the Amadeus TV series — would direct from Zauner’s script. But the movie is on hold, and Sharpe is no longer attached to the project.
Zauner is not the only acclaimed woman of indie rock who rose to prominence in Philadelphia in the 2010s to recently announce a pregnancy.
My John Wind charm bracelet featuring a salty soft pretzel, the LOVE statue, and a nattily dressed William Penn is one of my favorite pieces of Philly-centric jewelry.
In honor of our nation’s 250th birthday, Wind is giving the charms some more brotherly love. A proud Philadelphian, Wind has partnered with the Philadelphia Visitor Center for a six-piece commemorative jewelry collection featuring four necklaces, one bracelet, and a key chain/bag fob.
A commemorative John Wind charm bracelet available at the Philadelphia Visitor Center in honor of America’s 250th birthday.Nicole Vassallo for the Philadelphia Visitor Center
The soft pretzel, the LOVE statue, and William Penn remain a part of the jeweled tableau, and Wind has added a few knickknacks to the Semiquincentennial mix, like a boxing glove as a shout-out to Rocky; a soccer ball for World Cup afficionados, a star with red, white, and blue stripes for patriots, and a Liberty Bell.
Wind, who has been making charm jewelry since he started his business in the 1980s, has turned some of his tiny amulets into giant pieces of public art.
John Wind’s exhibition at Park Towne Place, a collaboration between the Philadelphia artist and InLiquid.John Wind
Earlier in the week, Wind unveiled an installation of Philadelphia, patriotic, and social justice charms as wall art at Park Towne Place. The show, “Charm Offensive @ Reilly Memorial” will be up through Oct. 6. It is a joint project between Wind, InLiquid Art, and Park Towne Place. All of the wall charms are for sale at $150 each.
The John Wind x Philadelphia Visitor Center Collection is available at select Philadelphia Visitor Center locations and at johnwind.com. Prices range from $48 for the key chain/bag fob to $108 for the necklace.
— Elizabeth Wellington
Will Sharpe as Mozart in “Amadeus,” the miniseries on Starz.Courtesy Starz
A new, hunky ‘Amadeus’
We’ll leave the notes on Amadeus, now streaming on Starz, to the film and TV critics — mostly. The miniseries based on Peter Shaffer’s play about Mozart and his less-than-genius jealous rival Antonio Salieri doesn’t have half the atmosphere or humor of the 1984 Milos Forman film.
That said, a hunky Mozart (Will Sharpe) seems like the update our age demands.
But we can offer a few notes on, well, the notes — the ones written by Mozart. Snippets of his music woven through the show last only a few seconds each, leaving a thirst to hear the rest of the musical works in recordings.
Mozart wrote only two piano concertos in minor keys, and one of them, the dark D Minor, K. 466, is heard in the opening credits. Annie Fischer’s 1959 recording with Adrian Boult and the Philharmonia Orchestra is exactly the storm you want.
Three pieces flicker by in Amadeus in the scene where Mozart’s wife, Constanze, shares Mozart’s scores with Salieri — The Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, ‘Gran Partita’ Serenade, and the Symphony No. 25. Each one of such beauty and invention there’s no mystery about why Salieri was undone by envy. A fun recording rabbit hole awaits listeners in each: the discovery that a particular interpretation can fundamentally alter the character of a piece.
A number of Mozart piano sonatas find their way into the miniseries, and Walter Gieseking’s recordings of crystalline tone and exquisite phrasing explain the kind of truths that are revealed when a composer finds his or her ideal interpreter. A form of genius, really.
“Amadeus” is streaming on Starz.
— Peter Dobrin
The cover image to Dexter Wansel’s 1976 album “Life on Mars.”Philadelphia International Records
Remembering a Philly jazz legend
Dexter Wansel was the player par excellence during the latter stage of Philadelphia International Records run of excellence in the late 1970s and 1980s. He wrote and produced for the Jacksons, Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, the Jones Girls, and more.
As Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff said in a statement after Wansel’s death on May 31 at 75, he “brought a new age sound” to PIR. “Dexter’s synthesizer and keyboard sounds were iconic.”
As great a behind-the-scenes player as he was, Wansel was also a solo artist whose music pushed PIR forward, blending old school R&B with futuristic sounds and the kinds of sci-fi adventures that were au courant in the ’70s, with the work of artists like David Bowie and George Clinton.
Wansel’s 1976 space-funk album Life on Mars is the place to start looking into his legacy. It was partly inspired by Bowie’s 1971 song “Life on Mars,” but Wansel’s track of the same name is a different song. His use of the ARP 2600 synth was innovative, and Wansel expanded the interstellar theme with song titles like “Stargazer” and “Rings of Saturn.”
But the album, which points forward the silky soul Quiet Storm format, remains connected to funky, earthly pleasures and structured songwriting. “One Million Miles from the Ground” is actually about lovemaking, not planet exploring. Life on Mars also opens with a tribute to Gamble, Wansel’s PIR employer, with a horn-powered instrumental called “A Prophet Named K.G.”
On June 24, as part of Art Philly, DJ-producer King Britt will honor Wansel and Life on Mars with a live performance at Johnny Brenda’s as part of his weeklong “Blacktronika: Philadelphia Now and Then” event series. The Blacktronika Icon Award that was planned to be presented to Wansel at the show will be given posthumously.
“Blacktronika: Philadelphia Now and Then” at Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., June 23-29. johnnybrendas.com
— Dan DeLuca
A hotel full of art
I know where the cool kids were Wednesday night — crowding into Yowie for the launch of Elsewhere, an art fair produced by Blah Blah Gallery and hosted within the rooms of the boutique hotel.
The premise: a blend of Philly and international artists taking over hotel rooms and inviting guests into their suites. The result was three floors of contemporary art curated by some of today’s most exciting, thoughtful, and sustainable artists and galleries from around the world.
Qualeasha Wood in her apartment in Philly in 2023 after making the move from New York City.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
There’s something extremely approachable and exciting about getting to hear about art while sitting on a couch with a gallery curator, sipping white wine together, being greeted by a piece of pop art inside a bathroom shower, or a Tadashi Adamson sculpture of toast with eyes staged on the hotel room’s kitchen counter.
I also spotted pieces by Philly-tied textile artist Qualeasha Wood in the hallway of an area on the second floor curated by DARLA out of New York. We love to see it.
Tina Fey as Kate, Marco Calvani center) as Claude, and Colman Domingo as Danny in Season 2 of “The Four Seasons.”Emily V. Aragones/Netflix
Shore laughs
It’s always a good time when Philly stars collab for big projects, and that’s especially true with Tina Fey and Colman Domingo in the second season of their Netflix comedy, The Four Seasons. As a cocreator and writer of the show, Fey decided that the show’s cast of vacationing couples should take a trip to the Jersey Shore, where she used to visit for many summers as a kid.
Those two episodes — filmed in Ocean Grove and Point Pleasant Beach — are some of the funniest in the season, and offer a chance for Fey’s and Domingo’s characters (Kate and Danny) to bond as they dream of opening a B&B.
One part that really had me cackling was when Will Forte, who plays Fey’s husband, makes a beach friend. Kate knows he’s been searching for a guy friend to talk sports or play games. There’s a moment when Kate and Danny see the two dudes talking and they start making fun of what topics they might be discussing (the Mets, TV sales, Gatorade flavors?) and then the camera cuts to the guys, who are actually talking about deep trauma and grief.
It’s a sweet and authentic portrayal of the Shore that feels like an excellent way to start the summer. There are so many laughs in this season I’d argue it might be better than the first. Plus, not to give anything away, but there’s even a brief trip to Philadelphia in the final episode, complete with a Wawa shout-out.
