Philly Music Fest Celebrates 10th Annual Event

PHILLY MUSIC FEST CELEBRATES TEN YEARS OF PHILLY BANDS AND RAISING MONEY FOR KIDS

Philly Music Fest celebrates its tenth annual event October 12-18 with twenty-five bands playing independent venues including Johnny Brenda’s, MilkBoy, Underground Arts, Ardmore Music Hall, The Fallser Club, and Solar Myth. This year’s lineup includes headliners The Dillinger Escape Plan, RJD2, Sweet Pill, Marietta, Mo Lowda & The Humble, Immanuel Wilkins, and Owen Stewart, along with support from Madi Diaz, Caiola, Noah Richardson, Remember Sports, Euphoria Again, Bleary Eyed, Wax Jaw, Solar Circuit, Nik Greeley and The Operators, Sug Daniels, Angelo Outlaw, Pyrrhon, Maty, Roberta Faceplant, Clover Stieve, Midfield, and Caged. Consistent with recent tradition, the festival will feature a SURPRISE HEADLINER for two nights at Ardmore Music Hall. Previous SURPRISE HEADLINERS have included Dr. Dog, Mt. Joy, and Waxahatchee. Tickets will be on sale May 22 and can be purchased directly from each venue or via PhillyMusicFest.com.

Philly Music Fest is a nonprofit DIY music festival organized by a local couple, Greg and Jenn Seltzer. The festival survives due to a disruptive business model centered around a nonprofit mission and without utilizing the services of large multinational corporate promoters and producers. Philly Music Fest raises money from citizens of Philadelphia who care deeply about the arts, such as Jason and Kylie Kelce, Jordan and Niki Mailata, Michael and Jen Forman, Larry Magid, Brian Morris, Kelly Stratton, Fred Merz, and Connor and Laura Barwin. Then, after paying all artists fairly and covering expenses of the independent venues, profits from PMF are donated to music education programs for kids in Philadelphia as a way to ensure the next generation of local musicians. Over the past decade, PMF has donated over $600,000.00 to various area programs, while hosting more than 170 bands from the region.

“Happy 10th Anniversary Philly Music Fest,” cheers WXPN’s Midday Host/Operations Manager Mike Vasilikos. “It’s been a decade of supporting the Philly music scene, but the groundwork PMF has laid inspires a vibrancy that will last for years to come.”

“Such an honor to be part of this festival with both Mo Lowda & the Humble and my solo project Caiola,” says songwriter and guitarist Jordan Caiola. “Opening for a hero of mine, one of my favorite artists who will be announced this summer, is a tremendous bonus. That will be a special night. It is always a pleasure to be asked to contribute to a great cause and represent this city's incredible music scene!"

“PMF started small at one venue in 2017 and has grown slow and smart to nine shows over seven nights each October,” says Greg Seltzer, Founder and Producer of Philly Music Fest. “The success and longevity of PMF is the consequence of unwavering adherence to our mission — supporting local musicians and independently owned venues, then donating the profits to music education programs rather than a corporation’s bottom line.”

PMF has resisted several opportunities for significant expansion, as Seltzer states, “we don’t measure success by size, we measure success by impact — and the math suggests that our biggest impact for artists, venues, and kids is to stick with nine club shows instead of a large footprint festival, stay lean on costs, and do as much of the work ourselves.” PMF has hosted over 170 bands connected to Philly and donated in excess of $600,000 to music education programs for kids.

“We could not be more thrilled with the diversity of this year’s lineup,” he continues. “After our DMs and inboxes were flooded with requests to introduce Metal into PMF, we hosted Horrendous at MilkBoy last year. This year, we’re expanding our foray and featuring The Dillinger Escape Plan at Underground Arts.”

“We had historically hosted Punk shows at Underground Arts, but in recent years — we switched it up, featuring Matt Quinn from Mt. Joy and Devon Gilfillian, but this year — we’re veering back to Punk with Sweet Pill making a triumphant return to the stage after cancelling a string of tour dates following the release of their breakthrough album. The following night, Marietta will headline.”

“The 2026 edition of PMF will wrap at Solar Myth for our annual Jazz Night. We toyed with a Philly 250 theme, and then thought about a Coltrane 100th Birthday theme,” Seltzer confesses, “but ultimately — I felt the best way to honor Philly 250 and honor Coltrane is to feature the best young saxophone player on the planet, Immanuel Wilkins. He’s 28 years old, from Upper Darby, and absolutely incredible.”

Philly Music Fest is a nonprofit organization founded by local husband and wife team Greg and Jenn Seltzer. Greg produces the festival, including booking, curation, and operations, while Jenn handles merchandise, hospitality, and accounting. After a string of headliners that included Japanese Breakfast, Mt. Joy, Alex G, Amos Lee, Dr. Dog, Kurt Vile, The Wonder Years, and Waxahatchee, PMF returns in 2026 with a stellar and genre-diverse lineup. PMF estimates an annual economic impact of $750,000 on the Philadelphia music economy, including an annual donation to music education of $100,000.

On May 20, Philly Music Fest will host Inside Hustle, in partnership with WXPN and Philadelphia Music Alliance, the networking and information event for music business professionals. PMF created Inside Hustle in 2019 to amplify the business aspects of the music community to support musicians. The event is free with RSVP and will convene monthly on the third Wednesday of each month at the Philadelphia Ethical Society. Drexel University will host a larger version of Inside Hustle on October 10. Each session features an informative and practical panel and a plethora of industry experts to serve as “tableists” and mentors.

Philly Music Fest maintains a strict policy of no corporate advertising or banners and has not accepted government money. Seltzer insists, “the focus must be on the musicians and the mission. Corporate and donor support is essential, and frankly — the engine of the business model — but when people attend a PMF show, I want them to be present and focus entirely on the musicians, then know in the back of their mind that the profits of the experience are going to kids and not corporate dividends.”

Find Philly Music Fest Online:

Official: https://phillymusicfest.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PHLMusicFest/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillymusicfest/