John Morrison’s Philly Top 5: August highlights from RJD2 to Art/Rock/Revelry

Summer is coming to a close, but it’s still hot as hell outside and the city’s music and arts community is still popping with events and new releases. As the season winds down, here are a few cool things that caught my eye / attention in the month of August.

RJD2 at Brooklyn Bowl Philly

DJ / producer and longtime Philly resident, RJD2 performed the closing show for the 2022 Adult Swim Block Party. Melissa and I went and RJ’s set was dope. Accompanied by a drummer and bassist, RJ played samples and cut it up nicely on the turntables. The band worked through a variety of songs from RJ’s catalog and Jordan Brown joined them for some real fly covers of Rick Jame’s “Mary Jane” and Earth Wind & Fire’s “Brazilian Rhyme (Interlude).”

Monnette Sudler’s Quarantine Concerts

Somehow I missed this back in April 2020, but this is a wonderful set of music presented by Ars Nova and legendary Philly jazz guitarist Monnette Sudler (Sounds of Liberation). In an intimate and subtle performance, Sudler displays guitar virtuosity with her cover of “Dolphin Dance” by Herbie Hancock and sings her own lovely original, “Retro Love”. Unfortunately, Sudler passed away this month but we will always remember and celebrate her work.

Garfunkle – Do You Want More!?!

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, MC, Producer, and keyboardist, Garfunkle’s latest is a tribute to The Roots’ 1995 album Do You Want More?!!??! The album is full of lush takes on songs from the album like the breezy, funky “Proceed” and “Swept Away.” Shout to Zilla Rocca for putting me on.

The Gathering Returns

After a two-year hiatus, The Gathering returned to The Rotunda on August 25th. As Philly’s longest running hip-hop event, The Gathering welcomes the dancers, DJs, MCs and graf writers that are the engine behind Philly’s hip-hop community. The August edition was organized in the memory of Nas Cunningham, a familiar face at the Gathering who was tragically killed last month in a cycling accident. 

The Gathering | Photo by Josh Pelta-Heller for WXPN | koalafoto.com

Art/Rock/Revelry: Artifacts & oral history from Philadelphia’s alternative music & club scene of the late 70s to mid 80s at The Neon Museum of Philadelphia

Philly’s alternative music scene has always been underrated. As a vibrant rock town in the 70s and an incubator for punk and hardcore in the 80s, our city’s place in the broader story of American underground rock culture is unquestionable. Art/Rock/Revelry is a current exhibit running at The Neon Museum that is packed with Zines, posters, photos and oral accounts of Philly’s rock scene. The exhibit is running from July 29, 2022 to  September 18, 2022 and I can’t wait to go check it out.

Art/Rock/Revelry | photo by Alyssa Shea