☀️ Everything worth your time this spring | Things to Do
Our picks for the best upcoming concerts, plays, exhibits, and more.
Happy first day of spring! Don’t let clouds and rain in the forecast dampen your mood — the sun is setting later, the temperature is heating up, and we are gearing up for the most exciting slate of concerts, exhibits, and performances coming to the region this season. What are you looking forward to this spring? Let me know!
This week’s lineup:
— Rosa Cartagena (@_RosaCartagena, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)
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Our team has spent weeks putting together our picks for everything worth your time this spring, including pop concerts, musicals, dance, visual arts, classical music, and more. Buckle up, it’s going to be a super busy season in and around Philadelphia.
🎤 Pop: Don’t miss Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Metallica, Lucy Dacus, Japanese Breakfast, and other major concerts.
🎹 Classical: Hear wondrous music from Spirited Away composer Joe Hisaishi, Leonard Bernstein, and more top classical talent.
🖼️ Visual art: Get lost in French painting at the Barnes Foundation, the velvety portraits combining African mythology and folklore at PAFA, the shimmering charcoal drawings at Locks Gallery, and a tour of a billionaire collector’s townhouse enhanced with virtual reality at Arthur Ross Gallery.
🎷Jazz: Ring in Grammy-nominated Philly pianist Orrin Evans’ 50th, in one of many great options for jazz lovers.
🎭 Theater: Catch big musicals (Some Like It Hot), heartwarming dramas (Primary Trust), and the world premiere adaptation of James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room — paired with nearby food and drink recs.
🩰 Dance: The BalletX fest, Riverdance, and a new work based on Lord of the Flies make up some of the dance shows we can’t wait to see.
The best things to do this week
🎭 Run, don’t walk: Philadelphians have a chance to see an August Wilson classic — part of the legendary playwright’s much-lauded Century Cycle — in a fantastic production directed by Pulitzer-winner James Ijames at the Arden Theatre. Read my review to see why I called it a master class in live theater.
⛸️ Chill fun: Drag queens are hitting the ice in West Philly for a special show continuing this weekend from the wacky and talented Bearded Ladies Cabaret. Find out why Beards on Ice! has made national headlines.
🫔 Rare treat: Tamales are getting supersized this weekend in a special event at the inimitable Cantina La Martina in Kensington, where you can order 40-pound tamales. No joke. It’s a big, delicious deal.
🎹 Swan song: It’s time to say goodbye to the beloved and storied Wanamaker Organ (for now). As Macy’s closes this weekend, organists will perform a daylong series of free concerts.
📅 My calendar picks this week: ARTOON NETWORK: The Cartoon Art Show, Women’s History Month Marketplace, FringeArts March Comedy Weekend
The thing of the week
This week, my colleague Henry Savage has a comedy show recommendation:
Adam Ray has been on your social media timeline, and you may not even know it. The stand-up comedian and actor has a penchant for impersonating famous TV personality Dr. Phil, along with others, and his work has garnered millions of views. He was even at Philly’s Miller Theater this past October as Dr. Phil for a live show. He’ll be at Punch Line Philly for five shows from March 20-22.
Spring fun this week and beyond
📺 Hello, sharks: It’s time to shoot your shot on your best wild invention pitch because the long-running reality show Shark Tank is coming to Philly in April. Here’s what you need to know.
🎤 New sounds: Will Smith is making a return to music with his album Based on a True Story, out next week, and an international tour. Here’s what we know.
🧷 Crafty alternatives: Following the news that Joann Fabrics is closing its doors, we put together a handy guide to local spots where you can still get your fabric and craft fix.
🍽️ Rebuild and reopen: Popular Mexican spot Tequlias was forced to close in 2023 after a shocking fire. Now, restaurateur David Suro is reopening with two restaurants in its historic Center City mansion.
🏖️ Sights on summer: For anyone eager to rush through spring and get to summertime solely for beach days, I empathize. Plan those trips now with our handy guide to Jersey Shore beach tags and where to find shore access for free.
Our critic’s picks
Pop music critic Dan DeLuca breaks down the best upcoming shows.
🎸 Friday: The indie show of the week is Horsegirl, the now Brooklyn-based trio of Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein, and Gigi Reece. It attracted attention when its then-teenage members, with an affection for ‘90s alt-rock, released the Ballroom Dance Scene EP in 2020. The excellent Velvet Underground-influenced new Phonetic On and On is a huge leap forward. The band plays the First Unitarian Church with Free Range and Empath.
🎸Also Friday: Johnny Brenda’s will host the St. Patty’s week blowout I’ve been waiting for, with Bar Dust, the fab Pogues cover band featuring members of the Menzingers, Modern Baseball, and other Philly bands. Shane MacGowan lives! The Tisburys opens.
🎤 Another one Friday: And if you’d prefer more quietly stirring Irish music that is actually from Ireland, Ye Vagabonds will soothe the soul at the Lounge at World Cafe Live; boygenius fans might recognize the band from the time it paired with Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Bakler, and Lucy Dacus on a 2023 version of “The Parting Glass,” a song that was subsequently covered by the Philly Specials last year.
🎤 Saturday: Beninese French songwriter, activist, and all around force of nature Angélique Kidjo plays the Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center in West Philly. Kidjo, a five-time Grammy winner, released a song-by-song reinterpretation of the Talking Heads’ Remain in Light in 2018. Her most recent album is 2021′s Mother Nature, which included contributions from Burna Boy, Sampa the Great, and The Roots’ keyboard player James Poyser, who scored the music for the new City of Brotherly Drugs drama Long Bright River on Peacock.
This week I’ve been catching up on Lady Gaga’s Mayhem. What are you listening to these days? Let me know!