Philly music this week is headlined by Kurt Vile, Robert Glasper, and All-Stars of Hip-Hop
Cracker, Tamino, Black Buttafly, and Geordie Greep are also playing shows on this busy and cold January weekend.
This week in Philly music, hometown hero Kurt Vile plays two solo shows at Johnny Brenda’s, pianist Robert Glasper settles in for a multi-night run at City Winery, and a pair of long-standing hip-hop partners bring their combined talents to Atlantic City.
Let’s start with Glasper. The five-time Grammy winning jazz-hip-hop-R&B bandleader is a frequent collaborator with Philly compadres like Questlove, Bilal, and the Baylor Project, and he’s been a regular at the Roots Picnic.
In the last year, Glasper has released no fewer than four Apple Music exclusive projects, including the becalmed Let Go, the jazz-hip-hop fusion Code Derivation, a Keys to the City, Vol. 1 live album, and the holiday collection In December. He also has an Apple Music radio show. Expect surprises at his City Winery stop, which includes two shows Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday, Maruja Limon, six women from Barcelona who mix flamenco with jazz, Latin pop, and electronic rhythms on their EP Te Como la cara, play World Cafe Live.
Black Midi singer Geordie Greep has said that the much-celebrated British progressive rock band is over and done. His new solo album, The New Sound, is packed with highly theatrical in-character story songs and dramatic tempo shifts. Chicago genre-blending songwriter Nnamdi opens for him Thursday and Friday at Johnny Brenda’s.
Belgian Egyptian artist Tamino, known for his soaring Radiohead-esque sound, opened for Mitski at the Met last year. Now he’s WXPN-FM’s “Artist to Watch” and will play Free at Noon at World Cafe Live on Friday.
That night, L’Impératrice, the French pop and “nu-disco” band whose name translate as “The Empress,” headlines at Franklin Music Hall. The group’s longtime singer, Flore Benguigui, quit the band last year after the release of their album Pulsar, and was replaced by Maud Ferron, who goes by stage name Louve. The punny band named Romain Let Us opens.
Black Buttafly is the New Brunswick, N.J.-based singer-songwriter Kayla Childs, who was a 2023 Black Music City honoree. Her four-song 2024 EP, Fly Free, recalls 1970s soul women like Chaka Khan and Betty Davis. She will perform at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the Friday Night Lounge series.
Cracker, the long-standing rock band led by Camper Van Beethoven founder David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, which made its mark in the 1990s with half-ironic anthems like “Euro Trash Girl” and “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now),” is at World Cafe Live on Friday.
Over the holiday break, Kurt Vile dropped in to play Wilco and Tom Petty covers with Philly band Florry at Johnny Brenda’s. This weekend, the “Wakin On a Pretty Day” singer-guitarist, last seen singing “Must Be Santa” in a Christmas video with daughters Awilda and Delphine is back at the Fishtown club to play two solo acoustic shows.
Mike Polizze of Purling Hiss opens both nights, and the two will likely share the stage for a few songs. The shows benefit the Natural Creativity Center, a self-directed learning center in Germantown. These are Vile’s only local performances until his band, the Violators, plays the Fillmore on July 22 and 23.
H.R., the legendary front man of Washington hardcore punk pioneers Bad Brains, performs at Kung Fu Necktie on Saturday. Heavy Beat opens the show.
On Saturday at the Hidden Fortress — the all-ages venue in Brewerytown — the headliner is self-described “hyperfolk” notoriously difficult-to-Google band, @. Yes, that’s the name of the band whose members consist of Philly singer-guitarist Victoria Rose and Baltimore musician Stone Filipczak. Their 2024 EP is Are You There God? It’s Me, @. Fernete and Half are also on the bill.
On Sunday, the holiday party of the weekend in Atlantic City is the All Stars of Hip-Hop show happening at Boardwalk Hall. Headliners are Method Man and his longtime non-Wu Tang Clan partner Redman, the cofounder of the National Cannabis Political Party. Joining them in the legal weed capital of South Jersey is an old-school cast of luminaries including Too Short, Da Brat, Ja Rule, and Lil Jon.
Last weekend, Philly’s Speedy Ortiz was on top of a terrific three-band bill at World Cafe Live, with the Tisburys and Big Benny Bailey. This week, the band fronted by Sadie Dupuis is in the middle of one, when it plays with reunited Boston band Grass is Green (whose guitarist Devin McKnight used to be a Speedy member), which is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its album Yeddo. Connecticut quartet Ovlov is also on the bill at First Unitarian Church on Sunday.
Finally, one thing that didn’t happen this week: Beyoncé‘s expected tour announcement. On Christmas Day, after a dazzling halftime performance at a Houston Texans game, she teased Jan. 14 in an Instagram video, leading fans to anticipate big news. Instead, she announced a $2.5 million donation to California wildfire relief and delayed the tour announcement due to the devastation. Stay tuned for updates on Queen Bey’s plans, which are sure to include a stop in Philadelphia.
The story has been updated to correct the year Black Buttafly was a Black Music City honoree.