Philly Music Fest 2026 Playlist
25 O'Clock
It's one of the best weeks of the year in Philadelphia. It is ! The fest celebrates its 10th year this year, and the 2026 lineup is all killer, no filler. But how does one prepare themselves for 7 nights of Philadelphia music? This playlist is an excellent start. Enjoy 11 tracks from 11 bands that are playing the fest this year, from punk to country to singer-songwriter to jazz to electronic to everything else. We hope this playlist gets you in a Philly Music Fest related mood, and that you discover some new artists that you may not have heard before. Philly Music Fest is a , and...
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Liam Wilson (Dillinger Escape Plan)
25 O'Clock
It's time again, and this year, Dan had one major interview on his wishlist: . Thankfully, Dan got his wish, and he and DEP bassist have an indepth conversation about Liam's early days in the Philadelphia hardcore and metal scene, joining The Dillinger Escape Plan in 2000, and the wild ride that ensued. Liam is also the current bassist for melodic death metal pioneers In Flames, and is part of the "supergroup" Azusa, which features members of Extol. The Dillinger Escape Plan are part of this year's lineup, and are playing October 15th at Underground Arts with Pyhrron and Caged....
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Grace Gardner
25 O'Clock
hails from Texas, but has come to love their home in Philadelphia, and how Philadelphians express themselves. John talks with Grace about their love of their home state, the "New Orleans shaped hole" that will always be in their heart, and how their West Philadelphia neighbors are far kinder than anyone back home would have led them to believe. Grace goes in depth into the making of both their recent albums, 'Recovery Mile' and 'After Knowing', and their collaborative relationship with their guitarist and producer . We're thrilled that Grace chose to perform an unreleased song, "My Mistake",...
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Mike Vasilikos
25 O'Clock
During his trip home this summer, Dan knew he had to sit down with . Mike is the mid-day host at WXPN, as well as the host of Homegrown- The XPN Local Show, and a tireless champion of Philadelphia music. Dan and Mike get deep into Mike's upbringing on Long Island, his early love of Dave Matthews, and growing up with a cassette tape at the ready to record his favorite songs off the radio (a definitive elder millennial practice). A chance spotting of a flyer at Towson University for their college radio station got Mike on the air for the first time, and the rest was history. Mike extolls his...
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August 2026 Playlist
25 O'Clock
Summer continues to perpetuate itself, and with comes a new playlist. 12 new tracks from Philadelphia artists are on display here for listening enjoyment. As always, check out the clickable playlist below and support the artists that you love.
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Joe Makoviecki (Jackson Pines)
25 O'Clock
We're back from our brief but rejuvenating break. Dan is back in Hong Kong. But while he was in the USA this summer, he and John did a handful of interviews with Philadlephia music community people that we know you'll love. Joe Makoviecki fronts the band , a folk band originally from the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey. Joe has called Philadelphia home for the last decade, but he has always been deeply involved in the New Jersey music world. On top of their original music, Joe and the band have made multiple volumes of recordings of traditional New Jersey Pine Barrens folk music, going back...
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Clark Park Fest 2026
25 O'Clock
Here's the short version: Dan and John were supposed to do a live podcast event at The Grape in Manayunk, but due to circumstances out of everyone's control, the event had to be cancelled. So they looked around at what else was happening that day, and decided to head over to . They ended up recording interviews and performances with a handful of the bands at this year's fest, including folk like Erin Fox, Moustapha Noumbissi, Miss Olivia, Max Davey, and Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise. Dan brings festival organizer Ben Perkel on the show to chat a bit about the event and some of the behind the...
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June 2026 Playlist
25 O'Clock
The June playlist is here, and it is (as always) outstanding. Do check out the clickable playlist below, it has links to every artist included in this episode.
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Labrador (Pat King)
25 O'Clock
frontman Pat King sits down with John to talk about growing up in the rural Hudson Valley, being exposed to a lot of art and music through his father, and how countless family trips to New York City convinced him he was a city guy. Pat also talks about his bands, getting away from practicing them to death, and writing more like John Prine. He shares a performance of a new song, "Slow Down, King", from Labrador's new album. The new Labrador LP, is out June 5th on . The band will play on with Old Souls and Maxwell Stern and the Good Light Band. They'll also be down in with Death By...
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Reese Florence
25 O'Clock
John sits down with in her home to talk about songwriting, stillness, and how live recordings can make the best albums. Reese raves about her neighborhood of Germantown, and even graces us with a new song called "Laura Palmer" from her upcoming release. Dan is back in the USA! . It's free, it's from 1-4:30pm, and it will be a great time. RSVP at the link above. Do attend.
info_outlineIt's Philly Music Fest, and we wanted to highlight one more artist playing the fest this year. KulfiGirls are Abi, Joan, Adesole, and Stephanie, and they are all on the show. Nate Runkel of Yo That's My Jawn is sitting in the host chair this week, and he talks with KulfiGirls about it all: how they met, how they formed up as a band, all the work that went into their LP 'Divinity', the pain of mixing your own record (props to Joan on that one), and how they're constantly floored when people come up to tthe band and tell them how much their music means to them. It's a rare feat to get all members of a band on one conversation, and to have it flow so seamlessly. You'll have a love not only for their music, but for how they work together as a group.
KulfiGirls are playing Philly Music Fest on October 18th at Underground Arts with The Wonder Years and Caracara (who were guests way back on #230). Go to the PMF site for more info on that show and all the other shows this week at venues around Philadelphia. KulfiGirls will also be at Milkboy on November 19th, and in Brooklyn at The Meadows on December 13th. The album 'Divinity' is available now wherever you get your digital music.
In honor of Philly Music Fest, all sales of our compilation, 'Want To Play A Song?: Live On 25 O'Clock Vol.1', go to strengthen the charitable giving of the festival. If you can't make it to a show and still want to support the work of PMF and their contributions to the music charities of Philadlephia, you can buy a digital copy of the compilation at our Bandcamp.