The 25 Best Concerts in Philadelphia This Summer
Plus, three local artists you should really know.
Olivia Rodrigo, one of the best Philadelphia concerts this summer / Photograph via Getty Images
It’s summer concert season in Philadelphia! Not sure which concerts to attend? Don’t worry: We did the work for you — no matter what kind of music you like. So here, in chronological order, are our picks for the best summer concerts in and around Philadelphia for 2024.
Roots Picnic
June 1st and 2nd at the Mann Center
Our hometown heroes return to Fairmount Park with an impressive lineup that includes André 3000, Fantasia, Lil Wayne, Nas, and — speaking of hometown heroes — Jill Scott. Given that so much of the Mann Center’s festival grounds are uncovered, let’s just pray to the weather gods: No rain!
Snoop Dogg
June 1st at Hard Rock Atlantic City
The man who was once merely one of the West Coast’s best rappers is now that plus a merchandising mogul, a Martha Stewart homie, and a marketing genius. This is your chance to roll one up with him on the Atlantic City boardwalk. His live shows are silly fun — and, fair warning, loud.
Patti LaBelle
June 7th at Hard Rock Atlantic City
A true Philadelphia — nay, American — classic. She’ll remain on these lists as long as she’s still doing her thing — a thing she doesn’t really need to be doing, thanks to the millions of frozen pies she sells each year.
Bonnie Raitt
June 7th at the Met
She’s won 13 Grammys, including one last year. She almost certainly has deserved more. As one musician once put it: “Bonnie Raitt does something with a lyric no one else can do: She bends it and twists it right into your heart.” So true.
The Rolling Stones
June 11th at the Linc
Notably, this will be the band’s first show back in Philly since founding drummer Charlie Watts passed away, leaving Mick, Keith and Ronnie to keep the flame alive. If you’re wondering, I’ll do the math for you: The combined age of the remaining members is 237.
The B-52s
June 22nd at Ocean Casino Resort
If you want to relive New Wave, catch early adopters the B-52s, who are still at it after all these years. Essential listening: Such party anthems as “Love Shack” and “Rock Lobster,” but don’t forget the truly weird “Planet Claire.”
The B-52s/ Photograph by Richard McCaffrey/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
Lizzy McAlpine
June 24th and 25th at the Met
The critically acclaimed Narberth native returns home in support of her latest offering, Older. This is no pop album — far from it. The Lower Merion High School grad has been called “the queen of sadness and despair.”
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Pride Concert
June 25th at the Kimmel Center
Two years ago, the Philadelphia Orchestra pulled off its first Pride concert, with special guest Martha Graham Cracker donning her Marie Antoinette ensemble to sing with the symphony. This time around, the guest star is none other than Sapphira Cristál, the opera-singing Kensington drag queen who just came this close to winning RuPaul’s Drag Race. This is one of the only times you’ll be able to hear our world-class orchestra for free, though ticket registration is required.
Janet Jackson / Photograph by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Janet Jackson
June 26th at the Wells Fargo Center
The pop icon will be joined by none other than hip-hop hitmaker Nelly. Yes, he’ll sing “Hot In Herre.” No, you probably shouldn’t take your clothes off. But you do you.
Jon Batiste
June 29th at Ocean Casino Resort
The 37-year-old Juilliard grad has played with everybody from Prince to Willie Nelson to Lana Del Rey. You may have caught his moving performance during this year’s Grammys ceremony. And he just opened for the Rolling Stones. You definitely don’t want to miss this concert along the AC Boardwalk.
“Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic”
July 4th at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Nelson has been hosting a Fourth of July concert blowout off and on since 1974, usually in his backyard of Texas. Guests have included dozens of prominent musicians, including the likes of the Grateful Dead and Neil Young. For the first time, Willie is bringing his picnic here, and he’s not skimping on the lineup, which includes Bob Dylan, Robert Plant with Alison Krauss, gospel legend Mavis Staples, and, of course, Willie himself.
Olivia Rodrigo
July 19th at the Wells Fargo Center
She won not one, not two, but three Grammy Awards in 2022, including for Best New Artist. At this year’s ceremony, she was, in this writer’s opinion, robbed when Billie Eilish and her bro beat out Rodrigo’s “Vampire” for Song of the Year with their Barbie soundtrack tune. Anyway, if you haven’t seen Rodrigo’s chilling performance of said song at the Grammys, here you go.
Beck
July 25th at the Mann Center
You may have seen Beck live, but you’ve never seen him like this. For this very special show, the somewhat-hard-to-categorize songwriter will be backed up by none other than the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Beck / Photograph by Peter Hapak
Musikfest
August 1st through 11th at various Bethlehem venues
The little town of Bethlehem isn’t usually high on our must-visit lists, though it should be said that its Christmas festivities are, unsurprisingly, pretty spectacular. Also making Bethlehem worth a visit is its annual Musikfest, which features lots and lots of county-fair food and free concerts and events as well as ticketed performances. The best of the latter this year include Greta Van Fleet, Ludacris, Slash, and … wait, the Black Eyed Peas are still around?!
Missy Elliott / Photograph by Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns/Getty Images
Missy Elliott
August 5th at the Wells Fargo Center
In her first big headlining tour of the United States, the ’90s hip-hop queen is joined by fellow legend Busta Rhymes. Essential listening: If you don’t know all the words to “Work It,” you may feel a little out of place.
Pink
August 18th at the Linc
Less than a year after the Doylestown great took to Citizens Bank Park, she returns to play our little football field.
Bruce Springsteen
August 21st and 23rd at Citizens Bank Park
The Boss and his E Street Band had to postpone a bunch of stops on their 2023 tour due to Springsteen’s nasty-sounding bout of peptic ulcer disease. In other words, do not give the man a John’s Roast Pork with long hots and sharp provolone if you see him hanging out in South Philly. The show must go on.
The Boss returns to Philly this summer. / Photograph by Rob DeMartin
Childish Gambino
August 21st at the Wells Fargo Center
Unless you were hiding out in a temple in Tibet in 2018, you would have seen the powerful video for his song “This Is America”. Now, the musician who, in his other life, is actor and comedian Donald Glover, returns with new music — and a new video, this one with a cameo from Philly’s own Quinta Brunson.
Usher / Photograph by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Usher
August 30th and 31st at the Wells Fargo Center
The frequently shirtless crooner is considered by many to be the “King of R&B” and one of the “Sexiest Men Alive.” And who are we to disagree? He visits in support of his ninth studio album, Coming Home, released on the same day he performed at this year’s Super Bowl. Yes, shirtless.
Nicki Minaj
September 4th at the Wells Fargo Center
Amid her Pink Friday 2 World Tour, the highest grossing rap tour ever by a woman.
St. Vincent
September 6th at the Met
It’s a little hard to describe the woman known as St. Vincent. This is partially because she’s so damn genre-bending. And yes, she’s one of the greatest guitarists alive today, but even her guitar-playing is its own not-quite-definable thing. Perhaps you should just take in her new album, All Born Screaming, and then go see her perform live.
St. Vincent / Photograph by Nedda Afsari
Pearl Jam
September 7th and 9th at the Wells Fargo Center
A bit of Philly-centric Pearl Jam trivia for you: The band was the final act to take the stage at the Spectrum, playing four nights that ended on Halloween 2009. You can actually buy a CD box set (remember those?) of all four nights.
Weezer
September 13th at the Wells Fargo Center
I’d originally put Green Day’s show at Citizens Bank Park in this space, but then my editor insisted that those goofballs Weezer performing their entire “Blue Album” — and with special guests the Flaming Lips and Dinosaur Jr. — were a better fit. I couldn’t argue. Or maybe I just gave up.
Weezer / Photograph by Brendan Walter
XPoNential Festival
September 20th through 22nd at the Camden Waterfront
Rosanne Cash, Pete Yorn, the Walkmen, and Meters co-founder George Porter Jr. round out the well-curated list of performers at this year’s installment of WXPN’s acclaimed fest. You can pick and choose which days you want to go or buy a pass for all of it.
MMRBQ 2024
September 21st at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Every year, our friends at WMMR put together this always ridiculous, always loud, and always fairly intoxicated day of live music. This time around, look for the Offspring and Halestorm to hold down the headlining spots. But you absolutely should go in search of the side stage, which features live-band karaoke. The karaoke singers? Preston & Steve fans. It’s as much of a riot as you’d expect it to be.
Bonus Content: Locals to Know
Kurt Vile, Dito van Reigersberg as Martha Graham Cracker, and Eliza Hardy Jones (photos provided)
Three Philly artists who should be on your radar.
Kurt Vile
This indie-scene darling lives with his wife and two daughters in Mount Airy. He started out doing his own lo-fi psychedelic solo thing in the ’90s. After that, he co-founded the War on Drugs. Then he left the War on Drugs. And he’s now back to a more solitary musical existence, with a sound that media outlets like to say is “solid gold stoner rock.” Vile will be at Atlantic City’s Anchor Rock Club on June 20th.
Dito van Reigersberg
The co-founder of Philly’s Pig Iron Theatre Company is best known as drag performer Martha Graham Cracker. Van Reigersberg went on hiatus in 2022 due to a battle with leukemia — a battle he has now won. All of Martha’s “comeback” shows have sold out within minutes. So she decided to play at Union Transfer (capacity: 1,200) on July 13th to give more people a chance at tickets, which were, as of press time, still available. For this special show, Martha is honoring the 40th anniversary of Purple Rain. And bringing a choir.
Eliza Hardy Jones
She coached the Eagles players on the two Christmas albums into actually, you know, singing. And she creates music out of quilts. (Yes, you read that right. Go here for an explainer.) Most recently, the multi-talented West Philly songwriter released Pickpocket, a poignant solo album about loss, joy and motherhood. She’s currently on tour with the War on Drugs, for whom she plays piano. See them at the Mann Center on September 17th.
Published as “Summer Concerts You Can’t Miss” in the June 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
