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April 29, 2013 | 3:43 PM | By

Just Announced: Patty Griffin to perform at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall on 6/6

patty

Touring in support of her seventh studio album American Kid, Patty Griffin has announced a show at the Kimmel Center‘s Verizon Hall on June 6th.  The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter pays tribute to her late father on the new album, following up 2010′s Downtown Church with biographical tales of birthday parties, World War II and family experiences.  American Kid will be released May 7th through New West Records.  Tickets for the summer show go on sale Friday, May 3rd at 10AM – more information will be available here.  Below, watch the official video for Griffin’s song “Ohio” featuring Robert Plant.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, News, Kimmel Center, Patty Griffin
March 29, 2013 | 4:20 PM | By

Madeleine Peyroux Performs at the Kimmel Center for special Free at Noon

As the kick off to the 2013 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, acclaimed jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux preformed a special set to a packed audience at the Kimmel Center this afternoon. Check out the photo gallery above and the set list below, and listen to Peyroux’s performance here (via the WXPN media player) For more information about PIFA, click here. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Events, Free At Noon, Kimmel Center, Madeleine Peyroux, Philadelphia International Festival Of The Arts
November 18, 2012 | 11:05 AM | By

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Conor Oberst at Kimmel Center, Erin McKeown at Tin Angel, Trail of Dead at Johnny Brenda’s, Concert for Haiti at Arden Gild Hall

Former Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst will be playing tonight at the Kimmel Center in support of his 2012 release of One Of My Kind, his first record with the Mystic Valley Band. The six-piece collective wrote the album while on tour supporting Oberst’s 2008 self-titled record . The album remains true to the confessional folk rock style Oberst has become known for. Tickets for tonight’s 8 o’clock show are available here; below watch Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band perform “Nikorette” from 2008′s Conor Oberst below.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Concert Previews, Events, Arden Gild Hall, Concert for Haiti, Conor Oberst, Dream Killers, Erin McKeown, Johnny Brenda's, Kimmel Center, Mallory Square, Tin Angel, Trail of Dead
August 26, 2012 | 1:14 PM | By

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Carsie Blanton at MilkBoy, Dead Can Dance at the Kimmel Center, Mischief Brew at the Barbary and Beta Hi-Fi Finals at World Cafe Live

XPN welcomes local singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton to MilkBoy Philly tonight with South Carolina band Shovels & Rope. Doors open at 7 p.m. and show show starts at 8. Tickets for the 21+ show are available here for $15. You can watch her Key Session below.

London-based world music/fusion duo Dead Can Dance gained world-wide success when their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached number one on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart. After calling it quits in 1998 and a short reunion in 2005, the band recently re-formed and released their eighth studio album Anastasis earlier this month. The pair will be bringing their ambient vibes to Philly tonight for a show at the Kimmel Center as part of their reunion world tour. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available here for $44.50. Download the title track from Dead Can Dance’s new album for free below.

Local DIY punk band Mischief Brew will be rocking the Barbary tonight with fellow Philly punk rock bands The Adults and Dead People Screaming. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30. Tickets are available here for $10. Listen to Mischief Brew’s song “Drinking Song for the Home Stretch” below.

And finally, after a week full of free shows from emerging local artists, the Philadelphia Beta Hi-Fi Emerging Music Festival concludes upstairs at World Café Live tonight. The top bands of the week will be performing starting at 7 p.m. and at the end of the night the winners of the festival will be announced. Stop by to see free performances by the best-of-the best of the festival’s artists and say “hi” to The Key editor John Vettese who will be on the judging panel.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Barbary, Beta Hi-Fi Music Competition, Carsie Blanton, Dead Can Dance, Kimmel Center, Milkboy Philly, Mischief Brew, World Cafe Live
August 1, 2012 | 12:30 PM | By

Listen to two new Desaparecidos tracks (frontman Conor Oberst plays The Kimmel Center in November)

Conor Oberst has always been a musician with a full plate of projects; in the early aughts, he took a brief break from Bright Eyes to front the short-lived post-hardcore band Desaparecidos, which set Obert’s signature howl to crunching, crushing arrangements. Its 2002 album Read Music / Speak Spanish was an exciting mix of incisive, socially-conscious lyrics and loud rock aggression, but short of a couple compilation appearances, that was the last we heard from the band until recently. Desaparecidos reunited for a one-off concert in its home base of Omaha in 2010, with talk of more to come. Today, Alternative Press premiered one new track called “Backsell” – streaming on the magazine’s homepage here – while another, “MariKKKopa,” was posted to YouTube. You can listen to it in the player below, and read a Huffington Post interview with Oberst about the immigration-themed song here. Desaparecidos also announced a fall tour that, right now, is sticking to the west coast; Oberst, however, will play a solo show at The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, Nov. 18. Tickets to the all-ages concert are available now.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Conor Oberst, Desaparecidos, Kimmel Center
April 15, 2011 | 12:36 PM | By

This Weekend In PIFA: Philly-Paris Lockdown (featuring Questlove) at The Kimmel Center

L to R: Larry Gold (composer), Daniel Felsenfeld (composer), David Murray (saxophone), Anthony Tidd (keyboards, arrangement), James Poyser, (keyboards, arrangement), ?uestlove

If you want our opinion—and we’re guessing that you do (because why else would you be reading this?)—this Sunday evening’s Philly-Paris Lockdown at Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center For The Performing Arts is one of the most anticipated events at PIFA. Questlove of The Roots will be joined by international singer-songwriter Keren Ann and a stellar lineup of musicians, arrangers, and singers for a tribute to “the Paris of the early 1900s, infusing modern instrumentation and hip-hop with the work of iconic period composers like Satie, Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky.”

The lineup for the show includes: Conductor Andrew Cyr, singer Keren Ann, drummer Questlove, legendary jazz saxophonist David Murray, D.D. Jackson and Pallavi Mahidhara on piano, The Roots James Poyser and Anthony Tidd from The Roots on keys and arrangements, bassist Derrick Hodge, the vocalists from The Dirty Projectors (Haley Dekle, Amber Coffman, and Susanna Waiche), Becky Anderson and Kristin Lee on violin, Joanna Franke on viola, Hiro Matsuo on cello, and Daniel Felsenfeld and Larry Gold as arrangers.

The Philly-Paris Lockdown featuring ?uestlove of The Rootsand singer-songwriter Keren Ann is this Sunday, April 17th at Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts at 8PM. Tickets are $35-$65 and can be purchased here.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Events, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia International Festival Of The Arts, Questlove
April 7, 2011 | 12:27 PM | By

It Has Arrived: PIFA descends upon the streets of Philadelphia

Are you ready for more art and culture than the human mind is physically capable of processing? If so, gaze into the mouth of madness that is the Philadelphia International Festival Of The Arts’ 2011 program guide—where you’ll find a list of more than 135 events (featuring 1500+ artists) from now until May 1st. For the next 25 days, you will find no refuge from the arts; PIFA’s all-consuming gaze will penetrate every poorly lit nook and cranny of Center City and beyond.

The festival kicks off tonight with a sold-out performance of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella by The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet at the Kimmel Center. WXPN will hold eleven events at PIFA during the month including all four Free At Noons at the Kimmel Center as well as free concerts by Bobby Long, Franz Nicolay, John Wesley Harding and late-night DJ sets by XPN’ Robert Drake, Keith Brand and Dave P of Making Time RADio. Click here for a complete list of XPN events at PIFA.

Make sure to check back in with The Key each day for a list of PIFA highlights and other noteworthy events.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Events, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia International Festival Of The Arts