From Bad Bunny to the Roots Picnic, 25 Philly concerts you can’t miss this spring
With names like Jon Batiste, Nicki Minaj, Emmylou Harris, Kelly Clarkson, and Leslie Odom Jr., it will be a musical spring in the Philly area.
Spring concerts mark the transition from indoors to outdoors.
Early in the season, the calendar is full with club and theater shows like the ones highlighted below, plus other gigs of note.
Wayne “The Train” Hancock is at Kung Fu Necktie on March 24. Alejandro Escovedo plays the Sellersville Theater on April 12, and Richard Thompson is at the Scottish Rite Auditorium that same night. Girl in Red does two shows at the Met April 17-18. Robyn Hitchcock plays World Cafe Live April 24.
Stiff Little Fingers is at Brooklyn Bowl May 2, Yung Gunz throws a hip-hop party at the Fillmore May 3, and Grace Cummings is at Arden Gild Hall May 8.
And then as the weather warms, festival and amphitheater season beckons. That means the Avett Brothers at the Mann Center on May 16 and Hozier headlining the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden on May 25.
Besides those, here are 25 chronologically ordered shows not to miss, leading up to the outdoor music schedule kicking into gear.
1. Jon Batiste, March 17
Since winning a Grammy for We Are in 2022, Jon Batiste’s ambitions have gotten grander. Last year, the former Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader released World Music Radio, which blended global sounds into his New Orleans gumbo, and also starred in the Netflix documentary American Symphony.
March 17, Fillmore Philadelphia, https://www.thefillmorephilly.com/
2. Sleater-Kinney, March 18
Little Rope is the second album Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of post-riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney have recorded without drummer Janet Weiss. It’s their best since 2015′s No Cities To Love. Its urgency is in part a response to grief: Brownstein’s mother and stepfather died in a car accident while it was being recorded. This should be cathartic.
March 18, Theatre of Living Arts, tlaphilly.com
3. María José Llergo, March 19
María José Llergo makes music that respects tradition, and messes with it in creative ways. Born in Andalusia, Spain, she’s a classically trained musician who grew up on flamenco, but added electronica and R&B to the mix on Ultrabelleza, her stunning 2023 debut.
March 19, City Winery, citywinery.com/philadelphia
4. Emmylou Harris, March 22
Emmylou Harris has made everyone she’s sung with sound better, going back to Gram Parsons in the early 1970s. The Queen of Country Harmony is headed to the Xcite Center in her first Philly appearance since she opened City Winery in 2019.
March 22, Xcite Center at Parx Casino, Bensalem, Pa., ParxCasino.com
5. Nicki Minaj, March 29
Save Pink herself, nobody’s Pinker than Nicki Minaj. The Trinidad-born rapper’s 2010 debut Pink Friday turned her into a star, and she followed it with Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012, and The Pinkprint in 2014. Last year, she teamed with Ice Spice for “Barbie World,” and released Pink Friday 2.
March 29, Wells Fargo Center, WellsFargoCenterPhilly.com
6. Buzz Zeemer, March 29
Philly band Buzz Zeemer made two albums of classic 1990s power pop before the group fronted by songwriting savant Frank Brown, and featuring guitarist Tommy Conwell, split up. Last year, the band issued Lost and Found, a collection of top shelf unreleased recordings. They’re back for their first show in 17 years.
March 29, Ardmore Music Hall, ardmoremusichall.com
7. Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, March 30
The Messthetics are Joe Lally and Brendan Canty of legendary Washington, D.C., post-punk band Fugazi, plus experimental jazz guitarist Anthony Pirog. For their self-titled album, the trio is joined by saxophonist James Brandon Lewis.
March 30, Solar Myth, SolarMythBar.com
8. Buddy Guy, April 5
Back in 1991, Buddy Guy released Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues. Now the 87-year-old guitarist — one of the most electrifying players ever — is on his “Damn Right Farewell Tour.”
April 5, Xcite Center at Parx Casino, Bensalem, Pa., ParxCasino.com
9. Caetano Veloso, April 11
He’s coming from Brazil, so the least Philadelphia fans of Caetano Veloso can do is travel to Princeton, N.J., for this rare area appearance by the master musician who was a key figure in the 1960s Tropicalia movement.
April 11, McCarter, McCarter.org
10. Rosali, April 13
Singer-guitarist Rosali Middleman relocated from Philadelphia to North Carolina in 2021. Bite Down, which she co-produced with James Schroeder, expertly mixes Neil Young-style sonic squall with becalmed vocals.
April 13, Johnny Brenda’s, johnnybrendas.com
11. Bad Bunny, April 19
In 2022, Bad Bunny transformed Made in America into a Latinx dance party. Now the Puerto Rican rapper is coming to South Philly on his “Most Wanted Tour,” in support of his 2023 release Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana.
April 19, Wells Fargo Center, WellsFargoCenterPhilly.com
12. Bongwalk Empire, April 20
If Boardwalk Empire got high it might sound like this hip-hop (and ska) bill, whose name plays on the HBO drama set in Atlantic City. Headliners are Los Angeles rappers Cypress Hill, plus Action Bronson, Sublime with Rome, and Souls of Mischief.
April 20, Mark G. Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com
13. Madison Cunningham & Juana Molina, April 23
Madison Cunningham won a best folk album Grammy in 2022 for Revealer and is recommended to fans of Joni Mitchell and Aimee Mann. Juana Molina is an Argentine songwriter with a background in sketch comedy who uses loops to bring her layered songs to life.
April 23, Ardmore Music Hall, ArdmoreMusicHall.com
14. Leslie Odom Jr., May 1
Fresh from starring in Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious on Broadway, East Oak Lane-raised singer and actor Odom returns for a show at the Miller Theater, down the street from where a plaque marking his induction into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame was unveiled last year.
May 1, Miller Theater, EnsembleArtsPhilly.org
15. Sing Us Home, May 3-5
Roxborough-raised songwriter Dave Hause’s Sing Us Home festival made a delightful debut in 2023. This year, it’s back in Manayunk, expanded to three days. The lineup includes Hause, Langhorne Slim, Amthyst Kiah, The Jayhawks, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and a reunion of Hause’s punk band The Loved Ones.
May 3-5, Venice Island in Manayunk, singushomefestival.com
16. Laufey, May 6
Laufey Lin Jónsdóttir joined Samara Joy and Domi and JD Beck in bringing jazz to a fresh audience with her 2023 album Bewitched. The Grammy-winning Icelandic Chinese singer broke through, thanks in part to singing Billie Eilish songs on TikTok.
May 6, the Met, metphilly.com
17. The Black Crowes, May 4 and 7
Chris and Rich Robinson’s brotherly battles are documented in Steve Gorman’s 2019 book Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of The Black Crowes. But these days, the Southern band is alive again with a new album, which makes light of their squabbles, called Happiness Bastards.
May 4, Ocean Casino Resort, Atlantic City, theoceanac.com, May 7, the Met, themetphilly.com
18. Sheer Mag, May 10
Philly hard rock quartet Sheer Mag have released Playing Favorites, their much anticipated debut for Third Man Records. The Tina Halladay-fronted band specializes in hooky 1970s hard rock.
May 10, the First Unitarian Church, r5productions.com
19. Kelly Clarkson, May 11
The original American Idol winner and talk show host’s 2022 EP Kellyoke covered Whitney Houston and Radiohead. Last year she followed it with her 10th album, Chemistry.
May 11, Mark G. Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com
20. Morgan Wallen, May 11
What was the most consumed album in U.S. in 2023? Taylor Swift’s Midnights? Nope. In album equivalent sales, it was country singer Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time, which moved 5.3 million units, beating out Swift’s 3.2 million. Wallen’s Citizens Bank Park show is a makeup for a postponed 2023 show.
May 11, Citizens Bank Park, mlb.com/phillies
21. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, May 12
It’s been over half a century for Neil Young & Crazy Horse, his most raggedly glorious backing ensemble. For the “Love Earth Tour,” the band is touring behind a live album recorded in 2022.
May 12, Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, livenation.com
22. Mannequin Pussy & Soul-Glo, May 22-23
A double bill of uncompromising Philly bands. Mannequin Pussy mixes sweetness with aggression on the new I Got Heaven. Soul-Glo brings an all-out attack that never lets up.
May 22-23, Union Transfer, utphilly.com
23. Khruangbin, May 22-24
The Texas psych funk band Khruangbin is a true phenomenon, a highly disciplined jam band fronted by stylish bassist Laura Lee Ochoa. They’re playing not one but three shows at the Met Philly.
May 22-24, the Met, themetphily.com
24. Camera Obscura, May 29
It’s Scottish indie pop season at Union Transfer, with Belle & Sebastian on April 26, and Camera Obscura, much-missed band led by Tracyanne Campbell on May 29. Their bittersweet Look to the East, Look to the West is their first in 11 years.
May 29, Union Transfer, utphilly.com
25. Roots Picnic, June 1-2
It’ll still be spring when the Roots Picnic gets underway on the Mann Center campus. Lil Wayne and Trombone Shorty will join the Roots in a New Orleans celebration, Method Man and Redman go toe-to-toe with Black Thought. Jill Scott, Victoria Monét, Nas, Fantasia, Cam’ron and Amerie, and many others are on the bill.
June 1-2, the Mann in Fairmount Park, RootsPicnic.com