February 04, 2016
While the first Friday of the month always means a busy night for the art crowd, there’s no shortage of music around the city this weekend. Philly is still abuzz with the recent announcement of the lineup for the annual Roots Picnic, but there’s plenty of live music to get through before then.
Check out our concert picks for the weekend below.
All shows are 21+ unless otherwise noted.
Silk City’s DJ residency list is growing with the announcement of a new first Thursday party called “ALRIGHT.” Familiar faces Lil’ Dave and Craig Dash are behind the new monthly event and will be spinning R&B, dancehall, future bass and more for a late-night crowd on Spring Garden. The event is free, and the bar will giving out PBR from 10-11 p.m. Expect even more from this event in the coming months.
Show 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; free
Fresh off the release of his debut solo album, Wiki, the de facto frontman of New York City’s Ratking trio, is bringing his new music on the road this year. The whole group is slated to open at Animal Collective’s sold-out album release show at Union Transfer later this month, but persistent fans can catch Wiki and Philly’s own Reef The Lost Cauze at Ardmore Music Hall this weekend.
Doors 7:30 p.m., Show 8 p.m.; $10-$15
The trio of Matpat, #IZ and TONYxMONT are putting on this house-fueled First Friday party at The Dolphin. You can expect “bleeps & bloops,” “'80s chi party bombs,” “rave classixs,” and “disco underground,” which pretty much says it all.
Show 10 p.m.; $5
Fool’s Gold DJ/producer Treasure Fingers arrives at Coda on Friday as part of his Nite Trips tour. Treasure Fingers, whose given name is Ashley Jones, released his first "Fool’s Gold" single all the way back in 2008 and has since offered official remixes for the likes of Kid Cudi, Theophilus London, Chromeo, Estelle and plenty more. Jones will be joined by 18-year-old upstart Landis LaPace.
Show 11 p.m.; $17
The First Unitarian Church will play host to a diverse nine-hour bill featuring 22 separate duos, plenty of them local, this Saturday. The annual DIY not-for-profit Two Piece Fest returns with performances from Blacksalt, Cat Jack, HIRS, Jitters and plenty more.
Doors 1 p.m., Show 2 p.m. (event ends at 11 p.m.); $12
Stalley, perhaps MMG’s quietest rapper, hits Philly this weekend with a performance at Voltage Lounge on Saturday. The Philly date marks the halfway mark for Stalley’s ongoing “From Me To You” tour, and the Ohio emcee fueled the fire with his just-released mixtape "Saving Yusuf" last week.
Show 9 p.m.; $15-$20 (18 and over)
A handful of heavyweight Philly DJs have come together for an inspirational new campaign called Dust + Dignity. Currently in the midst of a funding campaign on Kickstarter, Dust + Dignity would culminate in an audio tour exhibit highlighting 100 vinyl album covers with a focus on the evolution of album art and social justice issues in music. The curators? Cosmo Baker, King Britt, Rich Medina, Skeme Richards and DJ Junior.
On Saturday, Scratch DJ Academy will hold an open house in support of the project. Cosmo Baker will walk visitors through the newly opened DJ Academy location, and Junior of Record Breakin’ Music will talk with the DJs about the exhibit. Of course, there will also be plenty of music throughout the night and free pizza courtesy of Pizza Brain.
6-10 p.m.; free (donations encouraged)
Rising South Philly rapper Ish Williams is headlining a show at The Fire this weekend with a crowded bill featuring performances from Freshz, Badland Breez, Kace, Crime Children, Miles Chancellor and Ant Beale. Ish released his "God Listens" EP last year and caught fire alongside his fellow Jersey emcee Mir Fontane for a local anthem called “WANNI WAG.”
Show 7 p.m.; $5 (18 and over)
