Pause & Play: Exploring Philly’s Intentional Listening Spaces

In a city known for lively nightlife and concert halls, a small but dedicated group of spaces is taking a different approach: creating rooms where music isn’t something to dance to or watch from afar, but something to engage with directly. These rooms invite visitors to step away from the crowd, slow down, and experience sound up close – vinyl spinning, curated sets, and thoughtfully-designed acoustics all contributing to a more intentional connection with music.

From cozy, homegrown collections to café-bars with carefully curated records, each space offers a distinct way to listen, linger, and discover – a chance to connect over music outside the club or concert hall.

48 Record Bar 

Upstairs from Sassafras in Old City, 48 Record Bar is a listening room and cocktail bar co-founded by proprietor Donal McCoy, with creative direction from Joey Sweeney (who also hosts WXPN’s Sleepy Hollow on Saturdays). Modeled after the audiophile bars of London and Tokyo, the room is built for intimacy and attention, designed to draw focus toward sound rather than spectacle.

What began as a storage space above Sassafras became, after more than five years of research and design, what Sweeney calls “more or less the idea we dreamed up in the very first days.” McCoy steered the décor toward a sense of “comfortable elegance,” while Sweeney dove into audiophile culture during the pandemic, resulting in a sound system he admits is “slightly unorthodox” for a listening bar. Three sets of speakers, mounted high with individual left-right splits, create a sound that is “good and loud, but still leaves space for one-to-one conversations.” The speakers are balanced by drapery and fabric treatments that give the room a reverb-less, studio-like clarity.

Programming is omnivorous and discovery-driven: selectors – dubbed “Record Butlers,” because they also serve as hosts – play across genres and eras, often spinning whole album sides. On any given night, listeners might hear Nigerian highlife, a Peel Session from New Order, new jazz from Chicago’s International Anthem label, or a Cat Power live record. Beyond nightly sessions, 48 also hosts author readings, record launches, deep listening mornings, live podcast tapings, and Tiny Desk–style sets.

Through its Record of the Month Club and members’ nights, 48 has cultivated a small but devoted community built around what Sweeney calls “a breather” from the constant noise of the world. “Vinyl is about slowing down, appreciating both the music and your surroundings – and that kind of pause is more and more needed all the time.”

Percy Sound Lounge

On the ground floor of the Fishtown URBY building, Percy is a neighborhood café, restaurant, and bar. For music lovers, however, the heart of the space is the Sound Lounge. 

Outfitted with a circular DJ booth and four vintage Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre speakers, the midcentury-inspired room shifts easily from daytime coffee hangouts to late-night listening sessions. For co-owner and Fishtown resident Seth Kligerman, the idea was to make something music-forward that still felt accessible. “We are a 70s-inspired diner serving brunch and dinner. Our dishes and design have a sense of nostalgia, similar to music and sound,” he says. “I remember a great dish the way I remember a great song.”

That connection between food, sound, and memory is at the core of the Sound Lounge. The setup is vinyl-only, and programming leans intimate but eclectic, guided by a tight-knit community of DJs. Thursdays feature Spatial Awareness, a collaborative night built around careful listening and local relationships. On Fridays, Great Circles Presents brings in the energy of a neighborhood record shop, while Saturdays belong to Impressions with John Raffaele, who books selectors from around the globe.

The reception has been enthusiastic. “We’re definitely pushing the envelope on Philly to do proper brunch, dinner, and turn into a venue,” Kligerman says. “Each week is busier than the next.” 

As for why spaces like Percy’s Sound Lounge are resonating right now, Kligerman points to the pace of change in the city. “With every inch of this city getting built up, technology embedding itself into our daily routines, tuning out in a familiar space with a group of like-minded individuals is going to be in more demand,” he explains. “At the least, if you’re going to open a huge space, add components that are fulfilling.”

Club Friends Radio & Records 

Philadelphia designer Alexa Colas transformed her living room into Clubfriends Radio & Records, a music-centric space where vinyl, tea, and conversation coexist. Visitors come by appointment to casually browse her curated records, sip tea, and hear music on a vintage sound system passed down from her uncle, lounging on a big leather semicircle sectional that invites conversation. Some come to explore the collection, others to participate in listening parties or intimate live performances, and most do a bit of everything – moving fluidly between listening, chatting, and discovering new music. The space feels part gallery, part living room, part living, breathing music experience.

Clubfriends began as small listening gatherings, where friends brought records, tapes, and CDs, and Colas provided a bowl of chips and a book. “In club spaces, you don’t get a chance to actually talk to people…the structure doesn’t facilitate conversations in the way that I wanted,” she says. After leaving her corporate job in December, Colas had the freedom to expand the project, traveling and revisiting Amsterdam – the city of her foundational club experiences – and even importing records.

“It’s less about the music itself,” she reflects. “[I’m trying to] facilitate conversations, connections, shared moments.” Her collection mixes rare imports with personal favorites, each album a piece of artwork attached to a specific memory. She’s excited for visitors to share the moments connected to their own music. Every object in the space is chosen with intention: modular furniture that shifts from desk to hosting mode, rugs that transform the room, and vintage sound gear with its own family history.

This October, Colas brings the concept to the public with Clubfriends Radio & Records: I Turned My Living Room Into a Record Store, part of the DesignPhiladelphia Festival (October 1–12) at the Center for Architecture + Design. Visitors can browse vinyl and CD collections, sit in listening booths, enjoy live vinyl DJs, or attend intimate performances – all while lounging, chatting, and reflecting on what moves them amid the carefully curated, lived-in details that make the space feel like home.

Sweet 45 

Sweet 45 is where vinyl meets dessert, and every detail is designed to be savored. The new Fishtown listening lounge pairs an intimate, low-lit atmosphere with a tuned sound system and a short menu of indulgent sweets, creating a space that’s as much about lingering as it is about listening.

“We wanted to create a space that feels sexy and grown, but also warm and inviting,” says co-founder and DJ NA$H. “Music feeds the spirit, dessert feeds the senses. Put them together and you’ve got an elevated vibe that makes people slow down, indulge, and just be.”

Best known for her globe-trotting Internashional Bounce parties, NA$H built Sweet 45 as a counterpoint: a sober, laid-back environment where DJs can stretch out, play records they love, and let the music breathe. “Internashional Bounce is about sweating it out on the dance floor, but Sweet 45 is about leaning back and letting the music hit different,” she explains.

The sound system anchors the room – clean, warm, and balanced to let selectors shine without overpowering conversation. Desserts round out the experience, hand-picked to match the vibe: “Rich, satisfying, and a little indulgent,” NA$H’ says. “Just like the music, it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality and leaving people feeling catered to.”

With collaborations and residencies in the works, Sweet 45 aims to hold space for culture and community without pretense. “A lot of spaces feel like a cool kids club,” she notes. “Sweet 45 is different. It’s rooted in culture and community, not exclusivity.”

At the end of the night, she hopes guests carry that feeling with them. “Like, damn, I was catered to tonight,” NA$H’ added with a smile.

The Lounge @ LMNO

Hidden behind a mirrored wall inside Stephen Starr’s Baja-inspired LMNO, the Lounge is equal parts speakeasy, listening room, and retro cocktail den. Neon-lit and low-lit at once, it’s designed for discovery: the drinks lean nostalgic, the crowd is intimate, and the soundtrack is always deliberate.

General Manager Kayla Karp describes it as “a dedicated space where people could not only enjoy great food and drinks but also be fully immersed in music.”  Every detail – from lighting to seating to décor – was chosen to support the listening experience, blending hospitality with high-quality sound in a way that feels effortless and welcoming.

The Lounge is outfitted with a hybrid analog-digital Funktion-One system, designed for clarity, warmth, and depth. Karp emphasizes, “It’s not about blasting volume – it’s about quality, depth, and presence.” Whether guests are seated near the bar, a table, or a couch, the system creates an enveloping experience that lets every track shine.

Music drives the atmosphere. DJs collaborate closely with the Lounge team, bringing vinyl collections or exploring global sounds, while recurring resident nights and themed events keep the space dynamic yet cohesive. An upcoming series, Off the Wall, will feature entire albums played through the Lounge’s own collection, chosen by a guest or bartender for the evening.

Guests have called the space a “hidden gem,” with some returning for engagement shoots or to revisit the spot of a first date. “People want more than just background music – they want connection, discovery, and quality,” Karp says. “The Lounge offers all of that, wrapped in a warm, community-driven atmosphere.”

Philadelphia’s listening room scene extends beyond the spaces featured here, with other intimate, music-centered spots worth noting. Milkcrate Café, around since 2009 with locations in Fishtown and West Philly, blends a neighborhood café vibe with a curated vinyl collection – perfect for coffee, brunch, or an evening at its “Vinyl Bar,” where records spin and conversation flows. Solar Myth, on South Broad Street, doubles as a café, bar, retail shop, and live music venue: by day it serves coffee and pastries, by night wine, amaro, and beer, alongside LPs, books, and live performances programmed by Ars Nova Workshop, showcasing diverse and avant-garde sounds.