September 20, 2025 – I was convinced I’d never see Slayer again. Their 2019 farewell tour felt like the final nail in the coffin: the last sermon from the loudest, most blasphemous preachers of thrash. We all nodded back then, grizzled metalheads in our faded tour shirts, telling ourselves it was over, that we’d carry […]

September 19, 2025 – Having seen The Lumineers twice in the past few years, I’ve seen them playing mid-sized venues to now selling out stadiums like Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Colorado folk rockers – The Lumineers brought their Automatic World Tour to a sold-out performance at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. Celebrating their 20th year […]

September 16th & 17th, 2025 — Two nights that felt like someone cracked open my old CD wallet, ripped out every mix I made on a sleepless school night, and blasted it through the speakers of Brooklyn Bowl Philly. Bayside was celebrating 25 years, but it felt like they were celebrating every bad haircut, every […]

Photos + Review by Steve Cerf  ( @stevecerf ) September 14th, 2025 – Maren Morris spread her country–pop magic across the stage of The Met in Philadelphia. Morris kicked off the much-anticipated D R E A M S I C L E tour, promoting what I feel is her strongest album yet. It’s her seventh […]

Review by Sophia Captures by Steve Cerf @stevecerf It was a sold-out performance at The Foundry in Philadelphia, packed with fans there to celebrate the release of Finn Wolfhard’s freshman solo album, Happy Birthday. The night felt tight, loud, and personal — the perfect setting to see him step out on his own. I always […]

[ by Rick Pettine ] September 20, 2025 – Chester, PA — The Union held onto a one goal lead to edge past their Eastern Conference opponent New England Revolution at Subaru Park. The first half was scoreless as both teams had their chances. However in the 70th minute in the second half, Bruno Damiani found the […]

[ by Rick Pettine ] September 13, 2025 – State College, PA — On a warm Fall day in front of 109,500 fans in Happy Valley, the Penn State Nittany Lions had no problem defeating the Villanova Wildcats. However the fight they got from Nova, especially in the first half, was more than expected. Penn State amassed […]

[ by Rick Pettine ] September 6, 2025 – Villanova, PA — The Villanova Wildcats opened their 2025 season by defeating the Colgate Raiders 24-17 under a twilight rain. It was a close game, but Nova’s veteran experience from graduate student transfer QB Pat McQuaide (7) proved to be the difference. In addition to one passing and […]

[ by Rick Pettine ] August 2, 2025 – Millville, NJ — A weekend of racing took place in nearby NJMP, sponsored by the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), one of the oldest national organizations in vintage racing. Formula Cars from around the world competed. These featured Formula Race Promotions (FR), Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 […]

[ by Rick Pettine ] May 29, 2025 – Camden, NJ was host to a very special event in the shadow of Subaru Park, home of the Philadelphia Union MLS soccer team. Special Olympics Pennsylvania held their Interscholastic Unified Sports (IUS) Spring 2025 soccer tournament for several Philadelphia-regional participating schools.   The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program is aimed at […]

[ by Rick Pettine ] March 8, 2025 – Philadelphia, PA — It was the Flyers’ Marvel Super Hero Game on a Saturday afternoon, but there was no heroic effort to be seen. Philadelphia opened the scoring with a blazing first period shot from Owen Tippet (77), but quickly lost steam after that to fall to the […]

[Edited Transcript: Abbreviated for length and clarity] Interview + Article By: Erin Hunter (@erinehunter) April 15th, 2025 – Cory Marks is a top-charting Country Rock artist from North Bay, Ontario, in Canada. From the day he was encouraged to perform open-mike at a bar, he was destined to sing, and he has become the first […]

[Edited Transcript: Abbreviated for length and clarity] Interview by Erin Hunter + Photos by Steve Cerf January 25h, 2025 – Sierra Spirit is an indigenous artist from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Born Sierra Spirit Kihega, storytelling was always a significant part of her culture, and her debut EP is a reflection of this innate part of indigenous […]

[ Interview by Jen Strogatz ] [ Photos by Jen Strogatz ] Independent Philly: Where does the name ‘Jungle Giants’ come from? Who thought of it? Andrew Dooris: When we were first starting up the band, we all came up with a few names; I think The Jungle Giants was Sam’s. We handn’t formally decided […]

[Interview by David J. Miller] The Cold War Kids are in the midst of a tour that brings them to the City of Brotherly Love on Friday, January 31st, 2020 at The Fillmore. Back in November, lead singer Nathan Willett spoke with us about the new album, their live show, the challenges of adapting to […]

Ahead of their upcoming Step to the Local Motion Tour and their show at the TLA in Philadelphia on February 15th, Pepper’s drummer Yesod Williams took some time to speak with IndependentPhilly.com about their new album, Local Motion, the band’s history, his favorite thing about Philly, how much pot the 3 members of Pepper can all smoke […]

Independent Philly recently had the opportunity to speak with Nashville-based singer-songwriter, Ron Pope. If you haven’t heard of Ron Pope, you might recognize his music from features on shows like like NBC’s “The Voice,” CW’s “Vampire Diaries,” “90210,” and multiple seasons of FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” which sent two of his albums into […]

August 9, 2025 – As the lights dimmed, the Akron, Ohio duo of Dan Auerbach (lead vocals, guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums) kicked off the night with the gritty trifecta “Thickfreakness / The Breaks / I’ll Be Your Man,” setting the tone for what would be a raw and electric performance. The curtain lifted as […]

August 01, 2025 – Let’s get one thing out of the way: yes, World Cafe Live is still standing, and still under fire. After a bitter clash earlier this summer between venue ownership and a tight-knit crew of dedicated staffers many of whom were suddenly let go after raising concerns over a variety of issues; […]

The Duffy String Band, a renowned participant in Philadelphia’s annual Mummer’s Parade, has long been celebrated for its vibrant and entertaining performances that captivate audiences and exemplify the rich tradition of Mummers in the city. The Mummers Parade, held annually on New Year’s Day, is a cherished Philadelphia tradition dating back to the 19th century, […]

The block party took over The Fillmore Campus on Friday, doing its darnedest to make everyone forget the near 100° temperatures The Adult Swim Festival was billed as a block party bonanza that offered chart-topping artists, comedic stalwarts, and a bevy of concessions and activities. Despite the weekend scorcher, the festival delivered on all that […]

August 8, 2025 – I don’t ride into the city often. Most days, my horizon’s stitched with barbed wire and corn stalks, not brick facades and neon marquees. But when word drifted through the wind that Cody Jinks was bringing his outlaw gospel to The Met Philadelphia, I cinched my saddle tight and pointed my […]

August 8, 2025 – Styx stormed the stage at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, NJ, celebrating the release of their newest album, CIRCLING FROM ABOVE. CIRCLING FROM ABOVE showcases the band’s powerful, expressive artistic talents, and on this night, they brought it to life with unstoppable energy. Though Styx has been rocking audiences for […]

August 01, 2025 – Let’s get one thing out of the way: yes, World Cafe Live is still standing, and still under fire. After a bitter clash earlier this summer between venue ownership and a tight-knit crew of dedicated staffers many of whom were suddenly let go after raising concerns over a variety of issues; […]

July 23, 2025 – You know that dream where you’re suddenly at Warped Tour, but instead of teens selling mixtapes and neon tank tops, it’s eight bands playing metalcore that’s matured, diversified, and mutated into something both familiar and fearsome? That was Summer of Loud, pretty much a full-blown genre summit in Camden, NJ, and […]

July 11, 2025 – I’ve been chasing The New Deal for over 20 years now. From divey basements to festival sunrises, I’ve seen them set the tone and melt minds in just about every incarnation. But what went down at Ardmore Music Hall this past weekend? That was something else entirely, a new yet welcome […]