The 25 best and biggest Philadelphia pop music concerts this spring

This year’s spring pop music season starts off small, and then gets huge.

These 25 recommended shows are listed in chronological order, ranging from rock to hip-hop to jazz to country.

The venues mostly start out intimate, and end in oversize, culminating in a Memorial Day weekend takeover of the stadium complex in South Philly. Before spring is over, the summer concert season will have already begun.

You might not know his name, but there’s an excellent chance you’ve seen Philly musician Corey Bernhard on TV. The Germantown resident commutes to New York to play keyboards in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s band. His new album A Blessed Leap Into Eternity is an expansive and playful modal jazz adventure with the aid of Philly players like Yesseh Furaha-Ali and Lenny Mobley. Bernhard’s Eternity Ensemble is playing St. Michael’s Lutheran Church. bandsintown.com

Philly bassist McBride is on the short list of the most prominent figures in jazz. Among his projects is a new Trilogy 3 record with Brian Blade and the late Chick Corea. Meanwhile, Ursa Major is his “new band of young giants” featuring drummer Savannah Harris, sax player Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, and pianist Mike King.citywinery.com/philadelphia

David Bowden — the Philly- and New Jersey-raised romantic soul singer known as Pink Sweat$ — was supposed to play a hometown show at the Miller Theater on his birthday. The Eagles Super Bowl parade put a kibosh on that, and instead, he’s playing a rescheduled date at the Perelman Theater. ensembleartsphilly.org

For decades, the South Philly singer born Ernest Evans has been lobbying for his inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame based on the massive impact of his 1960s hit “The Twist.” This year he’s nominated, and is playing Lancaster in March. amtshows.com

Portishead defined trip-hop with the ambient narcotic blues of albums like 1994′s Dummy and its 1997 self-titled follow-up. Since then, singer Beth Gibbons has been none too productive, with one reunion album in 2008 and an appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s “Mother | Sober” in 2022. Last year, the English singer made her return with the gloriously good Lives Outgrown. themetphilly.com

The hardest working 100-year-old man in show business is surely Marshall Allen, the Sun Ra Arkestra leader who released his first ever solo album, New Dawn, in February. This performance will feature the reed player backed by an ensemble featuring some Arkestra members. worldcafelive.org

Brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Los Angeles folk-rock band Dawes were both hit hard by the LA fires. Expect to hear “Time Spent in Los Angeles” and the cover of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” they sang in an ensemble during the Grammys. thefillmorephilly.com

Memphis songwriter and banjo player Valerie June’s exuberant blend of blues, country, and American vernacular music overflows on “Joy, Joy!” the lead single from her forthcoming album Owls, Omens, and Oracles. worldcafelive.org

Lucy Dacus doesn’t live in Philly anymore — the Richmond, Va., raised singular singer-songwriter and member of boygenius is now an LA resident. But the keenly observant Dacus will begin the North American tour for her new album Forever Is A Feeling, which comes out March 28, with a show on North Broad Street. themetphilly.com

The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul’s 2025 concert jaunt is being billed as the “For My Fans Tour.” What that means is that while the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee does have a new album out in last year’s Gratitude, she’s going to put her focus on her hit-filled career. wellsfargocenterphilly.com

Songwriter-producer Phil Elverum makes sometimes delicate, sometimes suddenly explosive music of fragile intimacy, whether in his original band the Microphones, or as Mount Eerie, the band whose 2024 album Night Palace was a standout release of the year. utphilly.com

Irish songwriter Orla Gartland started posting videos on YouTube in 2009 when she was 13. The multi-instrumentalist has been honing her craft ever since, leading up to her breakthrough with U.S. audiences with the delightfully manic “Little Chaos” from her second full-length album, Everybody Needs A Hero. undergroundarts.org

Australian rocker and writer Nick Cave’s emotional connection with his fans has grown profound since the death of his sons Arthur in 2015 and Jethro in 2022. That’s apparent in his extraordinary online advice column The Red Hand Files, his book Faith, Hope and Carnage, and gratifyingly optimistic new album, Wild God. themetphilly.com

Sharon Van Etten has been one of indie-rock’s most distinctive voices going back to “Love More,” her 2010 single made in collaboration with Philly music nonprofit Weathervane Music. Her new project empowers the musicians in her band and reaps emotionally rich rewards. utphilly.com

Who were those guys in yellow jumpsuits, wearing upside-down flowerpots on their heads at the SNL50: The Homecoming Concert last month? They were Devo, the Mark Mothersbaugh-led Ohio band known for “Whip It” and “Wonderful World,” which is also kicking off its “50 Years of Devolution … Continued!” tour in Philly. themetphilly.com

Roxborough local hero Dave Hause returns with the third iteration of his festival, again staged on Manayunk’s Venice Island, and serving as the unofficial opening of the outdoor concert season. This year’s lineup is headed up by the Bouncing Souls, Frank Turner, and Hause with his band the Mermaid. Plus, local luminaries Buzz Zeemer and Speedy Ortiz. singushomefestival.com

Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Grand National Tour” is named after that vintage Oldsmobile that more dancers than you could count came climbing out of during Lamar’s meticulously staged Super Bowl halftime performance. With all the subtlety the Compton-born “Not Like Us” rapper packed into those 13 minutes, imagine what he can do over the course of two hours onstage. lincolnfinancialfield.com

Technically speaking, George Strait wasn’t lying when he claimed to be retiring from touring 12 years ago. The “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” singer — who has scored a record 44 No. 1 country hits — doesn’t go on full-scale tours anymore. He just plays a handful of stadium shows every summer. This year, Philadelphia gets lucky. Chris Stapleton opens. lincolnfinancialfield.com

Michelle Zauner returns with For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), Japanese Breakfast’s first album in four years, produced by Blake Mills, and taking its artistic cues from “the landscape of European Romanticism.” The album is due March 21, and the band plays Coachella in April before making its way to Philly. themetphilly.com

In 2023, the Walkmen, the Hamilton Leithauser-fronted New York band reunited after an 11-year separation, which included a three-night stand at Union Transfer. A new Walkmen album has failed to materialize but we do have a new Leithauser solo album, produced by Taylor Swift’s buddy Aaron Dessner, called This Side Of The Island. ardmoremusichall.com

North Carolina songwriter and guitarist MJ Lenderman’s greatness has been declared by critics on the basis of last year’s Manning Fireworks, which has earned comparisons to Randy Newman and Neil Young. His Union Transfer show in the fall was a standout, and now he’s back at a venue twice the size. franklinmusichall.com

All you zombies, show your faces on North Broad Street. The Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman-fronted Hooters is celebrating four-and-a-half decades as a premier Philadelphia name-brand band. The sextet will start its “45 Alive” tour at the Met, before heading off to spend the summer touring in Germany, where they’re huge. themetphilly.com

Both of the Metallica “M72 World Tour” dates, named after their 2023 album 72 Seasons, will follow a No Repeat Weekend blueprint, with completely different set lists. Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills open the first show, Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies are the preferable choice for the second. lincolnfinancialfield.com

They could have called it the “Face Tattoo Tour.” Instead it’s the “Big Ass Stadium Tour,” coming to Citizens Bank Park featuring two artists with roots in hip-hop, who are among the biggest music stars. Sierra Ferrell, who cleaned up at the Grammys with four wins, opens. mlb.com/phillies/tickets/concerts/post-malone

No, these MetLife Stadium “Cowboy Carter Rodeo Chitlin Circuit” dates are not in Philly. But they are as close as Queen Bey in a Stetson hat is going to get, at least on her initial run of shows, which includes only seven U.S. cities. beyonce.com