Two great lyricists play Philly on Friday. Who to choose?

Elvis Costello and Stephin Merritt each have a way with words. And the songwriters who are among music’s most gifted and productive lyricists are both playing Philadelphia on Friday night.

Let’s start with the one not quite as well-known. Magnetic Fields’ Merritt, the deep-voiced, crafty, and clever singer-songwriter and bandleader, also fronts the Gothic Archies and Future Bible Heroes.

Merritt often writes songs using gender-neutral pronouns and loves a concept that presents him with a challenge.

Most famously, he birthed 69 Love Songs, the 1999 Magnetic Fields triple album which is exactly what it claims to be: a fit-to-bursting compendium of droll ditties that are silly and serious, witty and wise. Inspired by Stephen Sondheim, it earned Merritt many comparisons to Cole Porter.

Other more recent Magnetic Fields projects have included the autobiographical set 50 Song Memoir in 2017 and, in 2020, Quickies, with 28 songs lasting a mere 48 minutes. Next spring, the band will be playing 69 Love Songs in its entirety over two nights in five cities.

Philadelphia is not one of them, but that’s OK. We get them at World Cafe Live on Friday, where the band will play a career-spanning set that will hopefully include 69 favorites like “Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin,” “Papa Was a Rodeo,” and “Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long.” The show will be opened by Secret Cinema screening of French Scopitones, the short musical films that were the forerunners of music videos.

Speaking of songsmiths never at a loss for words: Costello’s “Summer Holiday” tour is coming to the Met Philadelphia on North Broad Street. The always-busy Englishman’s most recent studio album — his 26th — was last year’s superb The Boy Named If. This year, The Songs of Bacharach & Costello box set compiled his work with the late Burt Bacharach’s.

But what makes this Summer Holiday show special is who Costello is playing with. Suave and stylish song craftsman Nick Lowe, who produced Costello’s first five albums in the late 1970s and 1980s, is opening, with Los Straitjackets, the Mexican luchador mask-wearing guitar band who provide him with sprightly backing.

Costello himself will be supported by his longtime band The Imposters, with an extra boost. Guitarist Charlie Sexton is a touring member of the band, and was a fabulous addition to the show when Costello played Atlantic City this winter.

It’s also an ultra-rare opportunity to catch Costello with a horn section. The singer will be joined by trumpeter Michael Leonhart, sax player Donny McCaslin, and trombonist Ray Mason. The Philly show is the final date of the tour.

Besides Costello and the Magnetic Fields, plenty of other worthy shows are happening this weekend. At the Mann Center, there’s a born-in-the 1990s bill with Noel Gallagher & His Flying Birds and Garbage, plus Metric, a Canadian band of more recent vintage, who are also playing WXPN-FM’s Free at Noon earlier in the day.

New York quartet Wild Pink (featuring Philly steel guitarist Mike ”Slo-Mo” Brenner) play a free show at Love City Brewing on Saturday, with Another Michael opening.

Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit are at the Fillmore on Saturday. The Weather Station opens. Butterfly Black — bassist Ben Williams and singer Syndee Winters, not to be confused with Philly performer Black Buttafly — play the Loft at City Winery on Saturday.

The Shady Grove Music Fest in Delaware is Saturday, with Philly rockers Purling Hiss topping a bill that also includes Toby Leaman of Dr. Dog. And a bit further south, Elkton Music Hall has its grand opening on Saturday with Oh He Dead and Philly country-rock supergroup Cosmic Guilt.

The Magnetic Fields at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. at 8 p.m. Friday. $45, worldcafelive.com. And Elvis Costello & the Imposters with Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, at the Met Philly, 858 N. Broad St., $39-$149, themetphilly.com.