Philly Music Fest

08/24/2026

The nonprofit Philly Music Fest is thrilled to announce two intimate shows on October 12 and 13. Gregory grew up in the Philly-area and started his musical journey in Philly bands and venues. He has reached incredible heights and we are so delighted to welcome Gregory and his band back to Philly, in some ways - giving back to a nonprofit that supports music education for kids and independent artists and venues.

Tickets onsale on Wednesday, August 26 at 12PM (Eastern). Presale on Tuesday, August 25 at 10AM (code is CAVES).

This year's mystery guest was born in South Africa and is now based in Colorado. But the artist who will headline two shows at Ardmore Music Hall has deep Philly ties.

08/17/2026

A few very Philly shows coming up at the Mann. Obviously, the Philly Pops, but Gregory Alan Isakov and Boyz II Men both have Philly roots and while Jerry and the Dead may not be from Philly, 50+ shows at the Spectrum is meaningful connectivity.

Philly Pops return to Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts this month for a special series celebrating the magic of live orchestral music across genres. From folk to rock to R&B, each performance pairs acclaimed artists with the full Philly Pops orchestra for unforgettable new interpretations of their music.

Gregory Alan Isakov BoyzIIMen

08/11/2026

The Dillinger Escape Plan is a mathcore band formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, whose relentless technicality and no rules approach to heavy music made them nearly impossible to imitate. They got their start on the New Jersey hardcore circuit, cutting their teeth through constant lineup shifts before signing to Relapse Records and releasing their genre defining debut in 1999.

Dissonant riffs, odd time signatures, and chaos calculated down to the beat, all delivered with a live show built on total physical abandon. Music made by a band that treats a song structure as something to be dismantled.

Their debut Calculating Infinity dropped in 1999 and became a cornerstone of modern heavy music, and they kept pushing boundaries through Miss Machine, Ire Works, Option Paralysis, and 2016’s Dissociation before calling it quits in 2017. They reunited in 2023 with original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis for a run of shows celebrating Calculating Infinity’s legacy, and this fall marks the final stretch of that reunion.

Philly’s been part of that legacy from the jump, a stone’s throw from where the band cut its teeth in the same DIY scene that shaped this city’s own hardcore roots. Bringing the final chapter of this reunion to Underground Arts, one of Philadelphia’s essential rooms for heavy music, puts it exactly where it belongs.

🎶 Start with “43% Burnt,” off Calculating Infinity, out now on all platforms.

🎟️ Catch The Dillinger Escape Plan live at PMF on October 15th at Underground Arts.

📲 Follow THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and don’t miss it.

08/06/2026

RJD2 is the stage name of Ramble Jon Krohn, a Philadelphia based producer, DJ, and multi instrumentalist whose two and a half decades in music have made him nearly impossible to pin down. He got his start DJing in Columbus, Ohio in 1993, cutting his teeth with the crew Megahertz before catching the ear of Definitive Jux founder El P and signing to the label in 2002.

Crate dug samples, cinematic beats, and hooks that swing from underground hip hop to soul to indie rock without ever settling into one lane. Music made by someone who treats genre as a suggestion.

His solo debut Deadringer dropped in 2002 to critical acclaim, and he’s kept moving ever since, from the sample heavy soul of Since We Last Spoke to the sample free, self sung The Third Hand to his most recent work as a longtime fixture of the Philly scene he now calls home.

🎶 Start with “Ghostwriter,” off Deadringer, out now on all platforms.
🎟️ Catch RJD2 live at PMF on October 15th at MilkBoy.
📲 Follow and don’t miss it.

08/04/2026

Sweet Pill are the technical, hard hitting side of Philly’s emo revival, born out of a college project and built into one of the scene’s most exciting live acts. Formed in 2018 by vocalist Zayna Youssef and guitarist Jayce Williams as a senior project at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, the band, rounded out by Sean McCall (guitar, vocals), Ryan Cullen (bass, vocals), and Chris Kearney (drums), relocated to Philadelphia and played their first show as a full lineup at FDR Skatepark in 2021.

Eruptive hooks, technical guitar work, and vocals that swing from a whisper to a scream. Emo with the edges of pop and hardcore, built for a room that wants to feel something loudly.

They signed to Topshelf Records and released their debut LP Where the Heart Is in 2022, and now return with their sophomore album Still There’s A Glow, out via Hopeless Records.

🎶 Start with “Blood,” off Where the Heart Is, out now on all platforms.
🎟️ Catch Sweet Pill live at PMF on October 16th at Underground Arts.
📲 Follow Killer and don’t miss it.

07/30/2026

Marietta are Philly emo royalty who came up in the same DIY basement scene that produced Modern Baseball, Tigers Jaw, and Slaughter Beach, Dog. Formed in 2011, the band, Evan Lescallette (vocals, guitar), Ethan Willard (guitar, vocals), Ben Johnson (bass), and Andrew Weigel (drums), built their name on that scrappy, pay-what-you-can house show circuit before dropping the split EP “”Couples Therapy”” with Modern Baseball in 2012 and their debut full length, *Summer Death*, in 2013.

Rousing chants, tangled guitars, and the kind of earnestness that makes a crowded room feel like a support group. Emo built for shouting the words back at the band.

They followed it up with *As It Were* in 2015, then went on hiatus that December. Ten years later, they returned, playing their first reunion show in October 2025 in Philadelphia, and haven’t looked back since.

🎶 Start with “”Yeah Yeah, Utah,”” off “”Couples Therapy,”” out now on all platforms.
🎟️ Catch Marietta live at PMF on October 17th at Underground Arts.
📲 Follow Marietta and don’t miss it.

07/28/2026

Thunderous drums, fuzzed out guitars, and hooks that hit like a storm rolling in. Rock built for shouting along in a packed room, with just enough attitude to keep it dangerous.

They’ve toured with French Cassettes and Illiterate Light, played Boston Calling, and keep releasing records that push their sound further. From “Northside Violet’s” dark, cat and mouse energy to their newest full length, Tailing the Ghost, out now.

🎶 Start with “Northside Violet,” off their latest era, out now on all platforms.

🎟️ Mo Lowda & The Humble play PMF on October 14th at Johnny Brenda's Fishtown , this show is SOLD OUT. PMF may release additional tickets closer to the date, so follow Philly Music Fest on IG and stay tuned.

📲 Follow Mo Lowda & The Humble and don’t miss it.

07/25/2026

IMMANUEL WILKINS is a Philly jazz phenom who’s been finding his sound since before he could walk into a church service on his own — the son of a Prayer Chapel congregation that had him on saxophone by age nine, coming up through the Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts alongside mentors like Odean Pope. He sang the national anthem at an Eagles game as a kid, moved to New York for Juilliard, and never looked back.

Think Coltrane’s spiritual reach, Ornette Coleman’s freedom, gospel’s fire. Jazz built on interplay, memory, and a horn tone that carries the weight of the whole tradition behind it.

His acclaimed quartet — with Micah Thomas, Daryl Johns, and Kweku Sumbry — has been together since 2017, and his three Blue Note albums (Omega, The 7th Hand, and Blues Blood) have racked up Grammy nods, a NYT #1 Jazz Album of the Year nod, and DownBeat’s Alto Saxophonist of the Year honors along the way.

🎶 Start with a track off Blues Blood, out now on all platforms.

🎟️ Catch Immanuel Wilkins live at PMF on October 18th at SOLAR MYTH — this show is officially SOLD OUT, but stay tuned, as more tickets may be released closer to the date.

📲 Follow IMMANUEL WILKINS and let it hit you.

07/21/2026

Owen Stewart is a Philly rock and roller who was born into music, the son of Tommy Stewart, drummer and lead vocalist of a late ‘70s band that opened for Van Halen and Blue Öyster Cult. He’s spent over a decade in the city’s scene, playing alongside acts like Ruby The Hatchet, Kiska, and Desoto Jones. But his solo project is where he finally steps into the front and center spot.

Think Black Crowes’ swagger, Allman Brothers’ groove, JJ Cale’s cool. Rock built on horns, swirling keys, and a gravelly voice that sounds like it’s been doing this for decades, because it has.

His debut album Done and Dusted dropped in October 2024, backed by a 16-member band featuring four saxophonists and three backup singers for its first-ever live performance on WXPN’s Free at Noon. His follow-up EP Glider arrived in January 2025, keeping that same big, soulful sound intact.

🎶 Start with a track off Done and Dusted, out now on all platforms.
🎟️ Catch Owen Stewart live at PMF on October 16th
📲 Follow and let it hit you.

Tickets + lineup at phillymusicfest.com

07/17/2026

Noah Richardson is a Philly singer-songwriter who’s turned his family’s funeral home basement into the birthplace of what fans have started calling “”funeral rock.”” What began as a way to process a rough stretch in college, trading screenwriting for songwriting, has grown into one of the city’s most talked-about rising acts.

Think John Mayer’s melodic instinct, Mac Miller’s honesty, Dominic Fike’s genre-bending swagger. Alt-rock built on real life: love, loss, and finding humor in the dark, delivered with a voice that fills a room.

His single “Tangerine” landed in the Top 10 on viral charts across the US, UK, and Canada, and he’s since crossed 650,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. From street performances to crowds of 15,000, Noah’s rise has been fast and it’s just getting started.

🎶 Start with “”Tangerine,”” out now on all platforms.
🎟️ Catch Noah Richardson live at PMF on October 14th
📲 Follow Noah Richardson and let it hit you.

Tickets + lineup at phillymusicfest.com