October 10-15, 2022

The festival

Philly Music Fest was founded in 2017 by Jenn and Greg Seltzer. All events are curated and produced by Greg. As home-grown, devoted Philadelphians, our mission is to host a music festival exclusively featuring Philadelphia musicians. 

We do it differently than your typical festival. By structuring Philly Music Fest as a non-profit and organizing it ourselves, we eliminate the need to pay producers and promoters. This way, we can pay our musicians well and donate proceeds to local music education for children. 

We love Philly Music Fest because we get to reinvest in the Philly music scene while enjoying a healthy dose of live music. We hope you’ll join the cause and celebrate the music of Philadelphia with us.

charity

supporting Music Education

We believe that to sustain our vibrant music scene, we must support the next generation of Philadelphia musicians. The bands that will grace our stages in ten years are kids right now. Unfortunately, access to music education is not as easy as it used to be since public schools have cut music education programs.

Philly Music Fest supports the following organizations that teach kids to play, bettering their lives in the process:

  • Rock to the Future
  • Live Connections
  • Settlement Music School
  • Musicopia
  • Play On, Philly
  • Girls Rock Philly
  • Beyond the Bars
  • Philadelphia Youth Orchestra

Our impact has increased each year. In 2017, we donated $15,000 to music education programs. In 2018, the total increased to $25,000, then $40,000 in 2019, and $50,000 in 2020. In 2021, we donated $75,000 to music education programs. These numbers represent total proceeds after fairly compensating all musicians and venues.

Supporting Local Musicians and Venue Staff

In addition to showcasing musicians at our festival, we launched a micro-grant program in March 2020 to assist and support musicians and venue staff impacted by COVID-19. The funds for the micro-grants were crowdsourced from our community and, importantly, through a donation by WXPN. All told, Philly Music Fest deployed over 330 micro-grants.

Supporting Independent Music Venues

Philly Music Fest intentionally books shows at independent music venues in our region. While many of our region’s larger venues put on incredible shows in beautiful settings, we believe that independent music venues are critical to our music ecosystem. 

Independent music venues curate unique experiences that are affordable and accessible. They provide local musicians with a place to hone their craft and exposure to new audiences. They showcase diverse and relevant voices. Each has a different style and flavor.

By holding Philly Music Fest in these venues, we support their mission while also (with your help) enabling them to earn a profit. 

Connect with us

If you are an organization furthering local music education, certainly reach out to us and let’s talk about support.

 

Supporters

Business and commerce is most certainly an important part of our music community. The coexistence of business and the arts is critical. In the spirit of community and a passion for Philadelphia, the following organizations have graciously supported Philly Music Fest with a monetary donation. We all should thank them and, where possible, support their products and services.

Please note that each of the following businesses has donated money in the spirit of community and support of the local music scene, without a demand for promotion, signage or exposure – the very definition of generosity:

The Merz Family
Jason and Kylie Kelce
Ballard Spahr
Guru Technologies
BOSS Tech
Maverick Partners
Connor and Laura Barwin
Workhorse Brewing Company
Jordan Mailata and Niki Ikahihifo-Bender
Exude

The Merz Family
Jason and Kylie Kelce
Ballard Spahr
Guru Technologies
BOSS Tech
Maverick Partners

Connor and Laura Barwin
Workhorse Brewing Company
Jordan Mailata and Niki Ikahihifo-Bender
WXPN
Exude

Ernst & Young
Independence Blue Cross
MVP Capital
NeuroFlow
CBRE
Fingeret Dental
Appetites on Main
Klein Hersh Incorporated
Jason and Jamie Hersh
Aardvark Mobile Tours
Brian Morris and Family
Max and Alexis Tuttleman
LevLane
Dakota Funds Group
Ensemble
O3 World
Santa Familia

Ernst & Young
Independence Blue Cross
MVP Capital
NeuroFlow
CBRE
Fingeret Dental
Appetites on Main
Klein Hersh Incorporated
Jason and Jamie Hersh

Aardvark Mobile Tours
Brian Morris and Family
Max and Alexis Tuttleman
LevLane
Dakota Funds Group
Ensemble
O3 World
Santa Familia

Dan and Alex Greenberg
Cobrin Properties
Righteous Felon
I. Rice
Guaranteed Rate
Jacob Cohen and Company
Wipfli

The Ghisu Family
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Karamatsoukas Family
Peter and Gina Katz
Federal Donuts
Karen & Steven Seltzer

Dan and Alex Greenberg
Cobrin Properties
Righteous Felon

I. Rice
Guaranteed Rate
Jacob Cohen and Company
Wipfli

The Ghisu Family
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Karamatsoukas Family

Peter and Gina Katz
Federal Donuts
Karen and Steven Seltzer

Drew Brown and Family
Ellis Coffee
Starmar Foundation
The Carlino Family
Obermayer
Jeff Aldridge and Family
Holly and Greg Flanagan
Avenue West
Miriam Grahame
Dana and Jeff Refold

Drew Brown and Family
Ellis Coffee
Starmar Foundation
The Carlino Family
Obermayer

Jeff Aldridge and Family
Holly and Greg Flanagan
Avenue West
Miriam Grahame
Dana and Jeff Refold

donate

Contribute to Philly Music Fest by clicking on the donate button below, or use Venmo: @PhillyMusicFest. Donations to Philly Music Fest are tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

get involved

If you would like to get involved as a sponsor, please contact The Philly Music Festival with this form below. 

alumni

We are incredibly proud of the bands that have played Philly Music Fest. Please support these musicians by purchasing their music and attending their shows.

man man

vacationer

speedy ortiz

ceramic animal

Japanese breakfast

Zeek Burse

RFA

sixteen jackies

petal

restorations

arnetta johnson & Sunny

langhorne slim

ali awan

Sun Ra Arkestra

chestnut grove

thin lips

jeremiah tall

foxtrot and the get down

TreWay

ill fated natives

ill doots

rosali

tate

sammus

Rich Medina

James Poyser

driftwood soldier

Jaleel shaw

eric wortham II

palm

harmony woods

hurry

The end of america

orion sun

levee drivers

kingsley ibeneche

tiny hueman

hardwork movement

ruby the hatchet

the districts

secret american

the whips

the mysteries

vita and the wolf

low cut connie

waxahatchee

soul glo

ivy sole

pissed jeans

sixteen jackies

local smokes

new sound brass

sea offs

dominic

remember sports

clap your hands say yeah

pine barons

slaughter beach, dog

deadfellow

steve gunn

strand of oaks

west philadelphia orchestra

slomo sapiens

work drugs

chris kasper

kississippi

Arthur Thomas and the Funkitorium

abi reimold

skull eclipses

eric slick (dr. dog)

Son Little

Spirit of the Beehive

Control Top

Queen of Jeans

moor mother

moses mosima

barney cortez

irreversible entanglements

stella ruze

annonxl

highnoon

moor jewelry

lunch

kelsey cork and the swigs

The Menzingers

Alex G

cayetana

Mt. Joy

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