Though it might not get the kind of press afforded to cities like New York or Los Angeles, Philadelphia's music scene has been a reliable source for great, and often innovate, music for decades. Past generations of Philadelphia musicians have included icons like Hall & Oates, while younger Philadelphians may know the city for artists like The Roots, The Disco Buscuits and, more recently, The War on Drugs.
One of the biggest reasons for the success of the music scene has to do with the large number and diversity of music venues throughout the city.
The area is home to smaller venues like Kung Fu Necktie and Johnny Brenda's, larger-scale houses like World Café Live and the Trocadero Theater and mammoth venues like the Susquehanna Bank Center.
And as summer slowly turns to fall in Philadelphia, the city is gearing up to celebrate the opening of several new venues.
One gaining significant buzz is Union Transfer. The venue is the brainchild of R5 Productions' Sean Agnew, New York-based Bowery Presents promotion company, which manages five New York-area venues, and Four Corners Management.
A majority of the underground, punk and indie acts making their way through Philadelphia are booked through R5. While Agnew and his team ordinarily use other venues to house their shows, most famously the First Unitarian Church and its chapel, R5 will now have its own exclusive venue.
For Agnew, Union Transfer is filling a void he saw in the Philadelphia music community.
"We saw a big need for a 600 person-sized venue in Philadelphia," Agnew explained, "All of the venues are either too large or too small - aside from the basement of The First Unitarian Church - and [we] wanted to provide an option where there would be great sound, lighting and an overall awesome experience for both bands and fans."
All parties involved agreed that the overall experience was of primary importance in constructing Union Transfer.
"Sound and sightlines are our biggest focal points as a company," explained John Moore, one of the partners with Bowery Presents, "We're going over the top on sound. We're building a mezzanine in the room, so you've got two levels... We're gonna bring the city a kickass venue that everyone's gonna come and have a great experience at."
Part of that experience involves something near and dear to Moore's heart-air conditioning. More said having it was an absolute necessity.
In fact, venues not having it can be a deal-breaker for him.
When we spoke via phone, Moore said he was on his way to Philadelphia to see Fleet Foxes when Agnew called to remind him that the venue didn't have A/C. "I was like, 'Okay, have a great show,'" he said, laughing. "I just wasn't ready for it."
Union Transfer will need that cool air-it will boast three bars and enough space to fit up to a thousand concertgoers.
Moore's air conditioning gaffe isn't the first time he and Agnew had worked together. The partnership between the groups is recent but their respect and working relationships aren't.
"We were each mutual fans of each other's work," said Agnew, "Four Corners saw that there were hundreds of people coming out to shows in a church basement and approached us asking if we would ever want more of an established venue."
"Once we started talking, we reached out to Bowery Presents to see if they would also want to be involved, as they have a great reputation among artists and concert-goers for creating amazing live concert experiences in New York and along the Northeast at reasonable priced tickets,"
"Things fell into place and it's been a perfect partnership."
The venue will open Sept. 21 with Philly locals Clap Your Hands Say Yeah playing the first show. Other planned performances include The Felice Brothers, Wild Flag and Odd Future (OFWGKTA.)
But Union Transfer isn't the only new game in town. The House of Blues franchise, which already has a venue in nearby Atlantic City, is slated to open a new concert facility this year.
While the new House of Blues has "nothing definitive to announce" yet (this coming from an e-mail request,) multiple reports have indicated the venue will hold up to 3,300 fans. Prospective concertgoers can likely expect artists in the vein of the Atlantic City venue, which is hosting Arctic Monkeys and Brand New this fall.
Center City also joined in on the action. Ardmore-based Milkboy Coffee open in mid-August and are putting the finishing touches on its latest venue, Milkboy. Located at 1100 Chestnut Street. Gang w/Pink Skull will debut the venue's first show on September 17th .
TheThe two-story venue will function as a full-service coffee shop during the day before switching into a bar, restaurant and music venue in the evening.
While it may appear the new venues appear to be a trend in the city, Moore explained that the opening of his new place had more to do with timing than anything else.
"For us, I think not only is it the right space and the right team and whatnot, but it is a natural extension for what we're already doing," Moore said, [I]t just felt like a natural extension... I think we'll complement each other well."
Still, it's difficult to not be excited by the slew of new openings. With new these openings come more opportunities to hear great music and the hope that Philadelphia may increase its reputations as one of the best music cities in the country.
