The Biggest Concerts and Music Fests in Philadelphia in Summer 2023

A duo of uber-melodic proportions, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks co-headline the Linc this summer. Between the two of them, they’ve sold hundreds of millions of records and released some of the most culture-defining songs of the last half decade. Whether you’re a Piano Man stan or Edge of Seventeen devotee, you’re in for a heavy helping of nostalgia.

Part ceremony honoring inspiring Philadelphians and part concert, this free community event features musical performances curated by local artist Chill Moody featuring Jermaine Dolly, justmadnice, Mare and the Studio Wednesday House Band.

June 20, 22 & 24, 2023

The Philadelphia Orchestra welcomes summer with events celebrating legendary artists and composers, including:

• Tchaikovsky Spectacular: This summer spectacle returns to Philadelphia with Paolo Bortolameolli leading a performance of Tchaikovsky’s most memorable pieces. Have a picnic on the grass and enjoy the dazzling post-concert fireworks show (June 20, 2023).
• The Trailblazing Music of Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Carly Simon: Dance the night away and celebrate women who changed the course of music with powerful symphony arrangements of their most iconic pop songs (June 22, 2023).
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Concert: In the near future, at a venue not-so-far away, John Williams’ groundbreaking film score comes to Philly in all its galactic glory. Lay out under the stars and relive stellar moments from the first film in the 2015 Star Wars trilogy projected on giant screens (June 24, 2023).

Local country station 92.5 XTU’s annual anniversary show always draws a huge crowd. This year’s lineup includes Alana Springsteen, Tyler Braden, Chayce Beckham and headliner Luke Bryan. Baby, you can crash his party anytime.

New wave legends The Cure come to Philly for the first time since 2008, which means Robert Smith and his signature croon (and aesthetic) are coming to town to play Just Like Heaven and Friday I’m In Love for the first time in over a decade.

From their Undone days to their fan-favorite Africa cover, Weezer has stayed delightfully consistent. Expect plenty of power chords and Rivers Cuomo’s witty wordplay.

A decade after finishing in the top six on the third season of NBC’s The Voice, Queens-born singer/songwriter Melanie Martinez brings her Portals tour (and her famously side-by-side dual-colored hair) to the Skyline Stage at The Mann Center on the last day of June. For this tour, Martinez will perform the entirety of the show in her beloved “Cry Baby” persona from the multimedia artist’s 2014 album of the same name.

What better way to kick off the Independence Day weekend than with American icon James Taylor performing a slew of classic soft rock hits on a summer night at The Mann Center? Billed as An Evening with James Taylor & His All-Star Band, Taylor brings renowned accompanying artists like Kate Markowitz, Michael Landau, former Michael Jackson band member Dorian Holley and Paul Simon drummer Steve Gadd to play staples like Fire and Rain, You’ve Got a Friend, and Shower the People.

This is it: the big one. Wawa Welcome America culminates in a giant, free-for-everyone party on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on the evening of the Fourth of July. The centerpiece of the celebration is a high-energy concert headlined by superstars Ludacris and Demi Lovato ahead of a stunning fireworks finale. Note: Guests can enter the Parkway through gates at 20th Street and Logan Circle beginning at 4 p.m.

Expectation-breaking country artist Kane Brown hits The Mann Center on July 8 for the Philly stop on his worldwide Drunk or Dreaming tour. With two Country Music Television Music Awards, four American Music Awards and an Academy of Country Music Award along with a dozen Top 10 Billboard Hot Country singles under his buckled belt, Brown is easily one of the biggest country artists to come through Philly this year.

Considered “the Queen of Neo-Soul” by pretty much everyone but herself, Erykah Badu brings her signature style to Philly this July with the Unfollow Me Tour. Weaving together R&B, hip-hop, funk, jazz, soul and more, Badu’s contemporary style, honed over her 30-year career, transcends the sum of its parts.

When she’s not being an activist, author, philanthropist, film producer and entrepreneur, the original girl on fire finds time to drop hit after hit as one of the most decorated music artists of all time. Alicia’s Keys to the Summer Tour reimagines the concert experience with an innovative, colorful and sensory 360-degree performance.

Pop-punk legends Yellowcard reunited in 2022 after six years apart for an appearance at last year’s Riot Fest, playing their iconic Ocean Avenue album in its entirety to celebrate the release’s 20th anniversary. The band enjoyed the experience so much that they’re taking the anniversary party on the road for a tour that hits The Mann Center on July 11 with Mayday Parade, Story of the Year and This Wild Life in tow.

Like Mozart’s piano, Weird Al’s accordion or Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, few instruments are so closely tied to one musician than Kenny G and his soprano saxophone (on which he once held a single note for over 45 minutes). This July 11, the sax crooner brings his famous musical stylings — and famously curly locks — to the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Montgomery County on the heels of New Standards, his 19th studio album and first release in eight long years.

Who run the world? The only correct answer is Beyoncé. Queen Bey brings her highly anticipated Renaissance tour to the Sports Complex complete with elaborate choreography, sets, costumes and vocals.

A time-honored tradition, the Dave Matthews Band comes to town for another summer outing. Be like ants marching and get your tickets for either Friday’s or Saturday’s show (or both!).

Genre-bending rapper Post Malone brings his If Ya’ll Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying tour to the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, where the tattooed icon lights up the waterfront with hits like I Fall Apart, Better Now, Rockstar, and Psycho. The 10-time Billboard Music Award winner and eight-time diamond record superstar hits the Philly region just three days before Austin — his fifth full-length album — is released into the world.

Jam band Phish once again hit the road on a hotly anticipated summer tour, playing two nights of sprawling sets in Philly. Phishheads don’t play around: These shows are already sold out save for some platinum charity tickets.

The Grammy-nominated country artist is the first person to rack up 15 No. 1 songs on country radio. Perhaps many of those chart-topping hits like Going, Going, Gone, Hurricane, and Beer Never Broke My Heart will appear on Luke Combs’ Linc setlist.

Philly radio station Alt 104.5 has brought dozens of free concerts and festivals to Philly over the years across a slew of venues. This go-’round, the alternative station’s summer jam rolls into the Fillmore complex in Fishtown for the first time. The full-day Fishtown FestivALT Block Party kicks off with a beer release event at Other Half Brewing, followed by free first-come, first-served afternoon shows headlined by Grouplove at Brooklyn Bowl and David Kushner at The Foundry. The night concludes with a (paid ticketed) show at The Fillmore Philadelphia with Portugal. The Man and Philly’s own Snacktime.

Class is in session during the High School Reunion Tour, which sees collaborators Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa (did you see their 2012 stoner comedy Mac & Devin Go To High School?) reunite once again. The bill is rounded out by West Coast rappers Too $hort, Warren G and Berner.

Two of the most influential voices in hip-hop take the stage over two nights in South Philly for Drake’s first tour in five years. Spanning the past decade of Drake’s career, the It’s All A Blur tour celebrates moments like Hotline Bling through Her Loss, a collaborative album with 21 Savage.

Sorry, but you’re going to have Unholy stuck in your head for the rest of the day. The immensely decorated artist Sam Smith (seriously, they’ve netted Grammy, BRIT, Golden Globe and Oscar awards) hits the road for the first time since 2018, touring behind their fourth album, Gloria.

Willie Nelson’s annual Outlaw Music Festival returns with its biggest lineup yet. The 90-year-old legend is joined by The Avett Brothers, Marcus King, Kathleen Edwards, Flatland Cavalry and Particle Kid for an afternoon of country, Americana, folk, rock and beyond.

One of the harbingers of the early 2000s emo movement, Fall Out Boy is essential listening for kids who just want to feel. Touring behind their fresh new album So Much (For) Stardust, Fall Out Boy brings their very long song titles and whacky lyrics to Camden.

It’s easy-listening time! Jason Mraz saw early-aughts success with The Remedy and I’m Yours, but the singer-songwriter has consistently released music, appeared on Broadway (in Waitress) and has a new album full of lyrical wordplay, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride.

Turns out, 20 years later, 50 Cent got rich but didn’t die trying. Hard to believe, but it’s been two decades since Curtis Jackson burst into da Club, and the Queens rapper celebrates the 20th anniversary of his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, with a world tour that drops by Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on the Camden waterfront on August 12. Fitty promises a show filled with greatest hits and songs he hasn’t performed live in decades. Bonus: Twelve-time Grammy-nominated legend Busta Rhymes comes along for the ride.

This one is going to go all night long. The soulful pairing of Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire covers all the musical bases: groovy (Shining Star), emotive (Hello) and everything in between.

Wanna know a dirty little secret? The All-American Rejects are heating up The Mann this summer with the Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour featuring New Found Glory and The Get Up Kids. It’ll almost make you miss high school. (Almost.)

While it’s a cold winter in their native Australia, Sydney pop foursome 5 Seconds of Summer heats up the Skyline Stage at The Mann Center for about 1,400 times that number of seconds, heading the sizzling Take My Hand World Tour to close out the season’s dog days. The multi-platinum-selling outfit’s world tour swings by on the heels of the release of their live album, The Feeling of Falling Upwards – Live from The Royal Albert Hall.

Hey, ho! Summertime favorites The Lumineers bring their special brand of folk rock to TD Pavilion at The Mann Center on August 23 for the second leg of their two-year-run Brightside world tour. Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites and their Denver-based touring band belt out hits like Angela, Ophelia, Gloria, Elouise and more songs not named after women, along with special guest James Bay opening.

For the seventh time over 10 years, former Philadelphia Eagle all-pro (and current executive) Connor Barwin hosts a benefit concert and party in the park to support his Make the World Better Foundation and its efforts to revitalize Philly parks and public recreation spaces. With Philly artists like Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs and Japanese Breakfast having performed in the past, this year’s edition — flying into Fairmount Park’s Dell Music Center on August 26 — features indie local rocker Alex G (or Alex Giannascoli to friends back in his Havertown, Delco hometown) along with Toronto-based dream-pop quintet Alvvays.

For the first time in his nearly two-decade career, Eric Church is embarking on an outdoor summer tour. Reviving his 2014 tour, Outsiders, Church brings his fresh brand of country rock to Camden.

Summer in Philly marks the beginning of the end for rock legends Aerosmith. This September 2 will be your very last chance to dream on with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and the rest of one of the most notable American rock bands ever as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers kick off their Peace Out: The Farewell Tour right here in Philadelphia. Don’t miss out on singing along with classics like Walk This Way, Crazy, Sweet Emotion and Cryin’ one final time before the group calls it a career after over half a century together. Nineties blues-rock darlings The Black Crowes open.

I bet you look good at The Mann Center. Just a month ahead of the release of their brand new album, The Car, UK indie rockers Arctic Monkeys take the stage at TD Pavilion at The Mann. The band drives into Philly on September 5, just a few shows before the end of their massive year-long world tour, so Alex Turner and friends should be good and warmed up to ask you musical questions like Do I Wanna Know?, R U Mine?, and Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?

Are you … hungry like the wolf? Live your new wave fantasy when recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Duran Duran bring their infectious earworms Girls On Film, The Wild Boys, Rio and, yes, Hungry Like The Wolf to the City of Brotherly Love.

Classic indie rock is on full display as Beck and Phoenix swing their co-headlining Summer Odyssey Tour into TD Pavilion at The Mann Center on September 8. Art rocker Beck Hanson, fresh off a 2022 Grammy nomination and his first new music since 2019, bangs out hits like Loser, E-Pro, and The New Pollution, while French synth-pop quartet Phoenix belt out staples like 1901 and Lisztomania along with tracks from their 2022 release, Alpha Zulu.

It’s been a long journey for New Orleans underground rap duo $uicideboy$, from humble beginnings self-posting on SoundCloud and Bandcamp to selling out basketball arenas. The conceptual introspective hip-hop pioneers swing by Wells Fargo Center on September 8 as part of their Grey Day Tour supporting the Spring Season version of their Yin Yang Tapes EP series.

Lansdale, Montco’s The Wonder Years serve as hosts, curators and performers at their all-day Loneliest Place on Earth Fest in the parking lot of Franklin Music Hall. The Philly burbs emo pop-punkers headline the September 9 show, performing their The Greatest Generation album in its entirety to celebrate the release’s 10 anniversary. The festival features seven acts on the main stage, including Origami Angel, Laura Stevenson and fellow Philly-based singer/songwriter Kississippi.

Bands know Philly is the best place to hold your big summer music festival, and dual legends (and IRL best friends) Sting and Shaggy are no exception. The former Police troubadour/bassist and the It Wasn’t Me reggae rapper team up to produce, curate and co-headline the inaugural One Fine Day Festival on September 9, a full day of music at The Mann Center with two stages of music featuring the two Grammy Award winners and seven other fine artists, including Thundercat, Tank & The Bangas, and G. Love & Special Sauce.

The kawaii metalocalypse is here. In their first U.S. concert since 2018, female-led Japanese metal band BABYMETAL comes stateside with co-headliner (and animated metal band) Dethklok and guitar virtuoso Jason Richardson. The BABYKLOK Tour supports BABYMETAL’s parallel world-inspired 2023 concept album, THE OTHER ONE.

One-time Genesis frontman and prolific solo musician, Peter Gabriel is readying his first album of new material in over two decades, i/o, with a world tour. The album’s first singles, Playing For Time and Panopticom, are equal parts heartwrenching and existential, respectively. And as a nod to the album’s celestial namesake, new music from i/o gets released during the full moon each month.

There are few artists better suited to fill the big spaces and high ceilings of former opera house The Met Philadelphia than triple-threat Janelle Monáe. Whether you love her for her star-turn roles in Hidden Figures, Glass Onion or Moonlight or from her 20 years of funky hip-hop-singed R&B albums, be sure not to miss her North Philly gig on September 18 in support of Age of Pleasure, her fourth full studio album.

One of pop’s favorite non-conformers, Pink has always played by her own rules. Her live performances are full of aerial acrobatics and, naturally, her powerhouse vocals. So what? She’s still a rock star.

There’s a pretty good chance you’ll never get to see Led Zeppelin play a live concert again. But while the sound, style and vibe at a Greta Van Fleet show may evoke the energy of a Zep set, an evening with the Grammy-winning Michigan blues rockers is no consolation prize. Currently touring in support of their brand new summer LP Starcatcher, GVF hits the Wells Fargo Center on September 19.

Whether you were a teenage Jonas Brothers fan in 2007 or you’re a teenage Jonas Brothers fan now, seeing Joe, Nick and Kevin in a jam-packed Wells Fargo Center might be the best way to wrap up your summer. The JoBros’ Five Albums, One Night tour comes through September 21 (two days before the first day of autumn) performing selections of songs highlighting their five studio albums, from their Disney beginnings up through their latest album, The Album.

Get excited for Festival O23, the fifth iteration of Opera Philadelphia’s popular and contemporary season opener. The 11-day event features live performances, opera film screenings and panel discussions at venues across the city. This year’s performances include Grammy-winning soprano Ana María Martínez, award-winning baritone Quinn Kelsey and more. Also on the docket is the global debut of 10 Days in a Madhouse, with five performances at The Wilma Theatre. The experimental, psychological opera — inspired by true events — follows an undercover reporter as she exposes troubling conditions inside a women’s mental hospital in 1880s New York City.

WXPN, the public radio station of the University of Pennsylvania, brings together musical legends and new performers along the Camden waterfront at the can’t-miss annual XPoNential Music Festival at Wiggins Waterfront Park. This year’s lineup includes Old Crow Medicine Show, Tegan & Sara, Allison Russell and many more.

Macklemore has had us popping tags since 2013. Known for collabs with artists like Skylar Grey and Kesha, Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us singer-slash-rapper Macklemore celebrates the release of his 2023 album, Ben, with The Ben Tour. His third solo studio album without his buddy Ryan Lewis, Ben explores some of the darker and more vulnerable parts of Macklemore’s life.