Bird vs Skyscraper

What is this?

There are a lot of bands in Philly playing fantastic original music. But for some of us, it's hard to pull the trigger and go see a band you've never heard before, spending a bunch of money and time on a show you might not like, listening to songs you've never heard.

This playlist aims to change that. Each month, it'll be updated with a tightly curated list of bands we like, and that you might like too, who are playing local gigs in the next two months. You can check out the list and find something you like, then go see the band play live, with at least a little familiarity with their stuff already.

Who is making this?

I'm Paul, the singer/songwriter for the band Faint Halos and a Gen Xer who still wants to discover new stuff, but doesn't have a ton of time to go hunting every weekend. I started this playlist for myself and my friends who want to discover new music but don't have a ton of time to sift through all the options. My taste runs from folky singer-songwriter music to indie rock to electronic pop to alt-country (and yes, I like my own band and will generally include it when we're playing as well). 

Can you add my track to the playlist?

So I'm generally working backwards from the major venues' calendars, not from submissions per se. But feel free to share your music if you're an active band or solo artist that can plausibly claim to be “from Philly”. However, note that first, the entire point of this playlist is to connect people to shows they like. So if you don't have a show coming up, you're not going to get on the playlist. The good news is that the playlist changes every month - it'll always be fresh for fans - so when you do have a show coming up, let us know (especially if it's at a venue a little off the beaten path and I might have missed it).

Now, as I mentioned, this is getting put together based on my personal taste. I make no claim that this is the “best” music in Philly, and your music might not click with me. In the future I can see a world where this site has multiple playlists catering to multiple tastes - a punk playlist, a hip-hop playlist, etc. - but for right now, it's just this one, and it's just my taste, and I apologize in advance if I don't add your track. If you're absolutely sure it's in the right vein, feel free to send another one.  

How can I help?

For now, there's basically three things:  One, as you can see, I have no visual talent whatsoever. If you have any good ideas about graphic presentation (playlist covers, social posts, ad reels) I'd love the help! Two, at some point we might want to start some other Philly playlists - if you are a budding curator for local acts in a genre like that, let me know. And three (this is awkward!): I am running Meta ads to build up the playlist a little, paying out of my own pocket. If you're really committed and have a few bucks to spare, let me know and we can venmo or something. Anything pitched in will go right into Meta ads, to spread the word to more people and connect these great artists with great audiences.

Thanks for stopping by!