Strand of Oaks, Cayetana and More @ World Cafe Live for the Philly Music Fest.

Video by Cady Elliott. Images by G.W. Miller III.

The inaugural Philly Music Fest happened last weekend at World Cafe Live, with hundreds of people experiencing the likes of Strand of Oaks (below), Cayetana, Ceramic Animal, Ivy Sole, New Sound Brass, Pine Barons, Skull Eclipses and more … all under one roof.

For those in attendance, it was pretty amazing. Free donuts, local beers on tap, local artists selling their goods and some of our favorite Philly bands on stage. And the array of talent was impressive – from R&B to pop punk, from rock to funk, brass to electronic.

The crowd could have been larger but it can be hard to get people to buy tickets to see acts that play Philly so frequently (looking at you, West Philly Orchestra). And the ticket prices may have scared off some of the scene kids, who would probably rather see their faves at a house show anyway (looking at you, Slaughter Beach, Dog).

Greg Seltzer, the fest creator, already has plans to do the event again in 2018, bringing another 20+ Philly acts to the stage on 9/28 and 9/29. We’re excited to see how things progress, and what changes he will make.

It’s an amazing time to be involved in music in this city. The fest really showed off what makes this scene so special.