Best of Philly

Best Festival

2025 Best Music Festival

Philly Loves Bowie Week

When you think of the late, great David Bowie, your first thought may not be our fair city, but the fact is that Philly always had a special place in Bowie’s heart, and we always gave the love right back. January 2026 marks the 10th edition of this nine-day festival. Enjoy small concerts, big concerts, DJ nights, art exhibits, readings, and film screenings, all paying tribute to someone who was truly one in a million. Read More »

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2023 Best Music Festival

XPoNential

It’s hard to believe WXPN has been producing this impeccably curated fest for 30 years. Among the dozens of acts at this edition, look for such varied performers as Bruce Hornsby, Tegan and Sara, the Hold Steady, and local greats Low Cut Connie and Moustapha Noumbissi. The concerts run September 22nd through 24th at Wiggins Park. Read More »

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2022 Best Music Festival

West Philly Porchfest

More than 100 DIY front-porch stages featuring 300-plus performers in genres ranging from bluegrass to classical to hip-hop to heavy metal — all 100 percent free. The bad news? You have to wait until June for the next one. The good news? Somebody is organizing a spinoff in Roxborough-Manayunk this October. And you can set one up in your neighborhood, too; visit porchfest.org to learn how. We’re looking at you, South Philly. We’ll call it Stoopfest. Read More »

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2022 Best Festival

Kensington Derby and Arts Festival

It takes a lot to get thousands of people to stand around in the pouring rain, but in the case of the Kensington Derby, rain makes the finale even better. After costumed teams have pedaled tricked-out homemade vehicles across three miles of obstacle courses throughout the neighborhood, there’s the pièce de résistance: the mud pit. Some make it through; others break down. Either way, the crowd goes wild. Read More »

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2012 Best Festival

The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby

We're suckers for this gala procession of "art and human-powered transit," a two-mile-long obstacle course full of drag queens, sofa kings, oversized skulls, beer tanks, balloons, sharks and superheroes, all battling to make it to-what else?-a mud pit. And how can you not love a fest that invites notorious two-wheeler-hater Stu Bykofsky to judge what is, underneath all the papier-mach and twisted metal, a bike parade? Read More »

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2011 Best Festival

The Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe

Our thriving arts scene wouldn't exist today if Fringe founder Nick Stuccio didn't have his light-bulb moment way back in 1997. The jam-packed 2011 fest kicks off on September 2nd. Read More »

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2010 Best Festival

Fishtown Shadfest

It turns out that shad used to be hugely important to the Delaware River economy, a fact our quirky friends in Fishtown (where else?) exploit with their annual Alosa sapidissima-feteing festival at Penn Treaty Park. It's true that Lambertville has been doing a shad festival for decades, but the city's is cooler: We've got shad la Johnny Brenda's and some of the best bands around, lots of local crafts (love the bottle-cap cuff links!) and craft beers, and perhaps our favorite part valet bike parking. Read More »

Penn Treaty Park, Delaware Avenue and Columbia Street, Philadelphia, PA Website