Returning to the parkway, The Oval XP gets ready for its first year back since canceling its 2020 festivities. Situated at Eakins Oval just in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the space opened up on June 16 and will run until August 21, extending the event from the usual six weeks to eleven weeks, aimed at providing the city of Philadelphia with free summer entertainment and wellness activities while uplifting the creative community at the same time. The festival features musical performances by local acts, food and drinks from local vendors highlighting women and BIPOC ran groups, and a large outdoor “Imagination Space” for kids to exercise both physically and mentally.
With shows most days of the week, this week the summer stage will host THR3ZUS featuring Ernest Stuart, Jason Fraticelli, Lionel Forrester Jr. tonight. THR3ZUS is a jazzy trio that mesh fusion with funk and other influences. On Friday, MINKA will be playing their upbeat electronic rock, channeling early David Bowie and Talking Heads. Going deeper into the rock sphere, Friendship will be playing on June 26, bringing classic indie rock sounds with the spirit of Philadelphia baked into its essence.
Other highlights coming in the next few weeks are Black Music City hosted by WXPN, WRTI, and REC Philly, Queen of Jeans, Stella Ruze, Max Swan, and Chill Moody to name just a few. Check out a full calendar of shows below and visit the Oval’s website to see more details about the scheduled activities.