Mo Lowda & the Humble keep Philly moving at Johnny Brenda’s

Wednesday’s Philly Music Fest lineup brought together three acts with distinct sounds and personalities, from Clover Stieve’s confessional songwriting to Noah Richardson’s conversational stage presence and Mo Lowda & the Humble’s free-flowing indie rock. Throughout the night, all of them made clear just how much Philadelphia’s music community means to them.

Clover Stieve opened the night with songs from her debut album, Born to Live, released in September. Her set was full of groove, anchored by strong vocals and an easy stage presence that made her a compelling opener. Her songs blend indie pop, folk, and R&B, balancing softer moments with a more powerful sound. Between songs, she expressed her appreciation for the city, telling the crowd, “Philly is a really special place, there’s no other place with a music community like this.”

Stieve performed “How Big Can I Dream,” a song she submitted to WXPN’s Song Challenge last year, and at one point kicked off her shoes, jumping around the stage barefoot. She eventually closed with “My Kind of Woman.” Stieve’s gratitude was evident throughout her set, but so was the confidence of an artist who had earned her place onstage.

Noah Richardson brought a more playful energy to the night, starting his set off by handing two point-and-shoot cameras to audience members and asking them to help capture the night. He followed it up by pulling out a PPA parking ticket – because what’s more relatable in Philadelphia than dealing with parking tickets? The lighthearted opening set the tone for a set that kept the audience involved the whole way through.

A couple of songs in, I was surprised to recognize a Britney Spears’ song. Richardson’s cover of “…Baby One More Time” gave the song an edgier, almost jazzier sound. The crowd also got a taste of unreleased material: a song inspired by Richardson watching The Sopranos. For one line in particular, he recruited the audience for a call-and-response, asking everyone to channel their inner Tony Soprano. Saxophone featured heavily throughout his performance, adding another layer to the arrangements as the band stretched out into extended outros. After spending much of the year on the road, Richardson seemed happy to be back in Philadelphia.

For Mo Lowda & the Humble, headlining night three of Philly Music Fest at Johnny Brenda’s was about as close to playing at home as it gets. The band joked that the venue was practically their local bar, given that they lived close enough to head home and shower after soundcheck.

By the time they returned to close out the night, Johnny Brenda’s was packed. Still, the crowd found room to dance, pulled along by the band’s free-flowing sound. The set moved smoothly from one song to the next, with the band jamming out, each musician working in harmony.

The chemistry that the band has developed over years of playing together was on full display. Frontman Jordan Caiola reminisced on their early days of playing shows while at Temple, recalling that their house shows were often cut short by police. Coming a long way since then, their fifth album, Tailing the Ghost, was released in 2025, with live albums released this year. At Johnny Brenda’s, that sense of musical exploration translated into a set that felt less like a sequence of separate tracks and more like one continuous groove. The crowd stayed in motion until the closing notes of “Beachtown” rang out, offering a welcome cure for the midweek slump.