Joey Sweeney & The Neon Grease | courtesy of the artist
Joey Sweeney is going on tour without actually leaving Philly
The eternal struggle of the Philly musician is getting people to leave their damn neighborhoods. With all their myriad house venues, music lovers in West Philly generally prefer to see shows in West Philly. With a mix of pubs, DIY spots and Boot & Saddle, folks in South Philly are kind of the same. And don’t even get me started on the River Wards, it’s a small miracle if you see your Fishtown friends outside of Fishtown more than once a year.
Joey Sweeney‘s solution? Take the music to the people, where the people live. It’s like John Mulaney said on SNL this weekend: “It’s always convenient to be where you live.” (Mulaney also had a lot of genius stuff to say about growing up Catholic in his monologue, while Sweeney’s 2018 album is called Catholic School, so there’s a bit of simpatico thought happening there, too.) Tomorrow night, Sweeney and his band the Neon Grease will embark on their first Neighborhood Tour: a run of five dates that they’ll play without actually leaving the geographical boundaries of Philadelphia.
They’ll open the run at the 700 Club in Northern Liberties, will close at Harrowgate’s trendy Foto Club on Sunday, and in between will play Pub on Passyunk East in South Philly, Kismet Manauynk, and a yet-to-be-disclosed location in Germantown, with a variety of guests and friends in the mix as well. More information can be found here; full dates below.
Joey Sweeney’s Neighborhood Tour
Tues. March 5 – Northern Liberties @ The 700
Wed. March 6 – South Philly @ The P.O.P.E. w/ your neighbors Jaime Fountaine, Hannah Taylor and John Pettit
Thurs. March 7 – Manayunk @ Kismet Manayunk w/ Ben Arnold & Daniel DiFranco
Fri. March 8 – Germantown @ DUNNO YET! w/ Jesse Sparhawk & Special Guests
Sat. March 9 – Harrowgate @ Foto Club w/ Shawn Kilroy & DJ David Krivda