The best concerts in Philly this spring, with Lorde, Little Simz, The Who, Haim and more

After two years of being either entirely shut down or severely hampered during the COVID-19 pandemic, indoor live music business is finally back up and running at full speed.

Calendars are once again filling up at theaters, clubs, and arenas, with pop bands returning to the road and shows that had to be rescheduled due to the delta and omicron surges finally taking place.

What follows is a recommended list of a 21 must-see shows scheduled to happen between now and when the music starts to move outdoors in the summer festival season. (I did cheat and include two open air shows, but they’re both before Memorial Day.) Tickets are available for big name artists from Lorde to Sting to Tim McGraw. The only concert that is absolutely sold out is Olivia Rodrigo with only secondary market tickets available.

Please check websites to see what COVID protocols are in place, as they vary depending on the venue and the artist.

The Austin, Texas, band fronted by Britt Daniel has been the most dependable outfit in indie rock since hitting their stride with Girls Can Tell, way back in 2001. That winning streak continues on the new, expertly constructed Lucifer on the Sofa.

April 15, $35, the fillmorephilly.com Buy Tickets

The Philadelphia singer-songwriter, who went from Tin Angel bartender to Blue Note recording artist, with his 2005 debut is back with Dreamland, his first album in four years, and is playing his biggest ever hometown show.

April 15, $25-$ 69.50, themetphilly.com Buy Tickets

South Carolina native Adia Victoria is a leading light among Black songwriters reshaping the forms of roots music broadly known as Americana. Victoria’s principal milieu is blues, and on her new album A Southern Gothic, the singer-guitarist reshapes the music’s mythic power for the here and now. Lizzie No is the opener. April 19, $17, milkboyphilly.com Buy Tickets

The New Zealand thinking woman’s pop star, Ella Yelich-O’Connor, is back on tour for the first time in four years. She’s back behind her sun-drenched 2021 Solar Power, her most mainstream album yet.

April 20, $136-$275, themetphilly.com Buy Tickets

This meeting of Philadelphia minds pairs jazz guitarist Kevin Eubanks with acclaimed pianist Orrin Evans. The hip-hop and harp combo of Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise open.

April 22, $40-$45, worldcafelive.com Buy Tickets

The Brett Hinds-led Atlanta metal band has been blurring the lines between metal, prog, and rock for much of this century, and are on tour behind their 2021 double album Hushed and Grim. Also on the bill: Swedish prog-metal band Opeth.

April 26, $39.50-$190.50, the metphilly.com Buy Tickets

Cimafunk is Erik Alejandro Rodriguez, the Cuban singer and band leader who mixes Afro-Cuban rhythms with American funk and features Parliament-Funkadelic bandleader George Clinton on his new album El Alimento. His irresistibly kinetic dance band stole the show at the XPoNential Music Festival in Camden last fall.

April 27, $20, brooklynbowl.com/philadelphia Buy Tickets

Philly soul diva Lady Alma was a house music mainstay in the 1990s, recording with 4Hero and Philadelphia DJ King Britt, but had put music aside until a video of a fan in South Africa dancing to her song “Let It Fall” went viral in 2018, with over 20 million views on Facebook. She’s playing a Jazz Music Appreciation month gig with her band Vertical Current.

April 28, $40-$45, worldcafelive.com Buy Tickets.

Sisters Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer have each carried on successful careers and as country-soul singers and songwriters, and finally got around to making an album together with Not Dark Yet in 2017. They don’t often tour together, so this show is a rare treat.

April 30, $35-$48, citywinery.com/philadelphia Buy Tickets

The Alabama-born band fronted by Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley had just released their election year The Unraveling when they played Union Transfer weeks before the pandemic shutdown in 2020. They’ve since followed that up with The New OK and are back in town.

April 30, $20, brooklynbowl.com/philadelphia Buy Tickets

North Carolina songwriter Indigo De Souza introduced herself with her charming 2018 debut I Love My Mom, and built on that breakthrough with last year’s thoroughly impressive coming of age album Any Shape You Take.

May 2, $20, utphilly.com Buy Tickets

Toronto four-piece punk band PUP are on the road behind their new album The Unraveling of PUPtheBand. They are joined by the mighty Philadelphia rock band Sheer Mag, fronted by power house vocalist Tina Halladay.

May 6, $27.50, bowerpresents.com Buy Tickets

Olivia Rodrigo didn’t sweep the Grammys as predicted, but the “Drivers License” singer did come away with three awards, including best new artist. This two-night stand is sold out, with demand so high that resale tickets are at pricey secondary market sites.

May 6-7, Sold out.

The Police man will be serving up two nights of hits in this show, billed as My Songs, named after a 2019 album that featured reconstructed songs from earlier in his career. His son Joe Sumner opens.

May 10-11, $83-$203, themetphilly.com Buy Tickets

The veteran Philly band of “Punk Rock Girl” fame are headlining the indie venue just off the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, where John Waters brings his one-man show on April 23 and Ceramic Animal is playing May 8.

May 13, $22.50, anchorrockclub.com Buy Tickets

The buzzed-about Philly roots-music supergroup led by James Everhart and featuring singer Hannah Taylor will celebrate the release of their self-titled debut album atop a quadruple local bill that includes Karl Blau, the Squawk Brothers, and Toby Leaman of Dr. Dog.

May 14, $15, johnnybrendas.com Buy Tickets

The first-generation British Invasion band were engaged and on top of their game when they brought Quadrophenia to Citizens Bank Park in 2019, and now the septuagenarians are back with a career spanning tour billed as The Who Hits Back! May 20, wellsfargocenterphilly.com Buy Tickets

The son of Tug, whom Taylor Swift sang about in her very first hit, is playing in support of his 2020 album Here on Earth. Country acts Russell Dickerson, Brandon Davis, and Alexandra Kay are also on the bill. May 20, $29-$149, livenation.com Buy Tickets

Kendrick Lamar once called the British rapper born Simbiatu Ajikawo “one of the illest doing it right now.” She contributed mightily to the recent flurry of releases by the mysterious Brit collective Sault and shone brightly on last year’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.

May 21, $25, tlaphilly.com Buy Tickets

Bob Dylan’s birthday bash is back after two years away due to COVID-19, and the Kenn Kweder and John Train curated event will provide a snapshot of the Philly folk-rock scene, with more than 40 songwriters each covering a Dylan song. May 24, Free, ardmoremusicall.com

Los Angeles band Haim are a pre-Memorial Day highlight of the Fairmount Park venue’s outdoor season, with the sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim (the breakout star of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza) bringing One More Haim tour to town.

May 28, $29-$125, manncenter.org Buy Tickets