CONTACT:

Caroline Bean

GPTMC

(215) 599-7433

caroline@gptmc.com

 

REAL FUN, REAL YOUNG, REAL PHILLY: REAL LOUD
 Philly’s Full Of Live Music, Big Laughs And Smooth Moves

Live, Loud And Clear

There’s a reason Philadelphia is known for its sound: the vibrant local scene supports and encourages new music of all kinds. While major national tours with platinum-selling artists regularly stop in for engagements at the Wachovia Center, the Electric Factory, the TLA and the Tweeter Center, some of the best live music can be heard in the smallest venues, such as The Khyber. This Old City institution is known as the place to hear an indie band before it makes it big. In a similar vein, West Chester haunt Rex’s books a consistently interesting lineup of both local and national bands. Red walls, rockabilly waitresses and cheap drinks are all part of the appeal at South Street’s Tritone, but the eclectic crowd comes for the lineup of obscure rock and edgy jazz.
 
The city’s more classic jazz roots live on at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, a cozy joint in Northern Liberties that predated that area’s hipster boom and continues to pack in enthusiastic audiences. In Center City, Chris’ Jazz Café is an inexpensive, convivial club that promotes local and young acts.
 
On the larger side, The Trocadero, a former burlesque theater, hosts established punk, hip-hop, electronic and alternative acts on its main stage, as well as emerging bands in its smaller, second-floor balcony. The North Star Bar is a converted house on an unassuming corner in Northern Liberties. The bi-level bar specializes in good beer and great tunes of the rock and soul variety. As the newest addition to the region’s live music scene, World Café Live, which will open its doors in October, brings a mix of contemporary rock, world and folk artists to a state-of-the-art venue in University City that also houses a restaurant and broadcast studios.

Outside of the bar scene, The Point in Bryn Mawr hosts folk musicians and singer songwriters in a pleasant, smoke-free coffeehouse. While R5 Productions’ concerts are usually all ages, the new and independent hip-hop, punk and indie artists draw equal numbers of savvy teenagers and hip adults to venues like the First Unitarian Church. Out on the cutting edge, two venues in West Philadelphia, the Rotunda and The Gatherings at St. Mary’s, are known for avant-garde, ambient and experimental performances.

Music To Mark On The Calendar

With a slate of regular big music events—and many that span whole days and weekends—Philly literally rocks all year round. Founded by Philadelphia’s Grammy-winning hip-hop act the Roots, the Black Lily showcase at the Five Spot is a weekly chance to check out emerging female talents in neo-soul, hip-hop and spoken word. In recent years the night has cultivated the careers of Jaguar Wright, Jill Scott and India.Arie. At the Liberty Lands Festival, held twice each summer in Northern Liberties, local indie rock bands play an outdoor concert to raise money for the neighborhood’s green spaces. Having earned a devoted following for their impressive skills, the young students of the Paul Green School of Rock show off their education several times a year with tributes to Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, the Ramones and others.

Summer music festivals are abundant in the region. Held every Memorial Day, Jam on the River is a lively rock party that kicks off the season on Penn’s Landing. Sponsored by independent radio station WXPN, Singer Songwriter Weekend assembles a range of talent from country, folk, blues and rock, and the Philadelphia Folk Festival is a miniature Woodstock every August, with folkies camping out to watch three days of performances—everything from bluegrass to zydeco.

Movin’ And Groovin’

DJ-ing is a respected art form in Philadelphia, which has nurtured talents like Josh Wink, King Britt and Rich Medina. Dozens of bars, restaurants and lounges feature DJs on a nightly basis, and with new spots opening routinely, the club scene is booming. Known for its high-quality music, South Street’s cozy Fluid brings in prominent national and local DJs to spin reggae, house, hip-hop, techno and various combinations thereof. The enormous converted warehouse Shampoo Nightclub plays classic house, dance and hip-hop music, with several different DJs spinning in its many rooms. Nearby, Transit specializes in house, hip-hop and the British pop-rock Making Time party. Northern Liberties’ hotpots Silk City Lounge and 700 Club are the places to relax in a lounge atmosphere or dance to an eclectic mix of Brit Pop, old-school rap, heavy metal and exotica. On the upscale end, swanky Denim Lounge caters to the well-heeled crowd with excellent house music and fancy cocktails. Latin sounds rule in Old City at Brasil’s, which offers instruction and tunes for salsa, merengue and bachata dancing.

American Idol Philly-Style

Music lovers can get in on the action at open mic events at bars such as Fergie’s, Five Spot or Silk City Lounge. Always entertaining and usually comical, karaoke nights are gaining momentum around the city. Would-be rock stars and self-lampooning clowns gather regularly at Locust Bar, McGillin’s Old Ale House and Mill Creek Tavern. Other sing-a-long events include the semi-regular Super Mecca Karaoke Smackdown held at The Trocadero or the Punk Rock Karaoke with a live band at the Pontiac Grille. In a more competitive vein, Pop Quiz, which typically takes place at The Kyhber, is a summit for music geeks who vie in a trivia game for cash prizes.

Big Laughs

Philadelphia has an abundance of comedy troupes, joke joints and witty performance art to choose from. For the classic comedy routine, Laff House is the place to catch touring standup acts. The hilarious members of Comedy Sportz put on a rigorous weekly show that demands audience involvement, while local improv troupes Comic Energy, LunchLady Doris and Gurus of Guffaw make merriment in a variety of locales. On the edgier end of the spectrum, Hard Liquor Theater is a cast of comics, drag queens and clowns that brings its madness to Tritone every third Thursday, and the weekly Cabaret Mélange at L’Etage presents terrific local talents in music, comedy and theater.

ADDRESS BOOK

Live, Loud And Clear

Music To Mark On The Calendar

Movin' And Groovin'

American Idol Philly-Style

Big Laughs


The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), Philadelphia's regional tourism marketing agency, is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to building the region's economy and positive image through tourism and destination marketing. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, call the new Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676, or visit www.gophila.com. For information about arts and cultural attractions in the region, click on the CultureFiles link.

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Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit the photo gallery of gophila.com/pressroom.  

September 2004

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