Author: Jacey Mellon

The power of music is undeniable. Music has the ability to ignite inspiration, create connections, dominate trends, and make life worth living, just to name a few qualities it holds. I know in my own personal life, music has always been a guiding light, and a source that has the power to completely alter an influence my mood and how I am feeling, regardless if that is intentional on my part. I think I can speak for most that they would agree. Not only does music evoke powerful emotions, but it also can soothe, comfort, and uplift spirits. Music is a way for people to feel heard and understood, and ultimately helps to us heal. It is also a universal language. Overall, music has profound effects on humans.

For as long as I can remember, music has always been a hugely influential part of my life. My life kind of revolves around it. I am happiest when I find a new song, or a new group to listen to and enjoy. I need to listen to music every day to feel like I am having a good day. And, I think a lot of others feel the same way. Thankfully, the city of Philadelphia provides music lovers with endless opportunities to be surrounded by what they love.

The city of Philadelphia is filled with aspiring artists and musicians. Many musicians and artists from Philadelphia have “made it” successfully, like Hall and Oates, The Roots, and Patti LaBelle. There is a huge music scene within the city as well as a vast underground music scene.

You can find new music and musicians almost anywhere in Philadelphia. Whether it be in bars during open mic nights, house/basement shows, or well known smaller music venues, there is a vast, dynamic music scene.

Having a music scene within Philadelphia, whether it be the well known “Philly sound”, or underground music organizations, is so important and crucial to the city’s culture. Not only is music so significant for the soul, but music is so powerful that it holds the ability to establish culture within specific areas an groups of people, which in my opinion, is something that is essential to human nature. I believe that the music scene within Philadelphia is greatly significant part of what makes up the city’s dynamic culture, while at the same time and builds community within a population that is so large. Music is so rich and essential to the culture of Philadelphia, and has been ever since the city has been established.

Philadelphia is a hub for music, and the city provides opportunity to be immersed in varieties of music scenes, which then forms communities of music lovers within it, thus creating a ripple of significance and inspiration within the city. This is greatly important for the city’s culture, but it also crafts a community within already built in communities, like Temple. It creates sub groups within students that all enjoy live music and music in general.

There is a vast underground music scene within Philadelphia that is open to anyone who is interested. Between the house shows that take place all around the city, to the wide array of music venues that allow and open up doors for artists and bands to perform, Philadelphia creates a place for smaller artists and underground music to be able to reach people who not only want to be involved in a music community, but also learn and find out about artists who are not mainstream. There are a multitude of venues that consider themselves hubs of the underground music scene. Underground Arts, Milkboy, and Franky Bradley are all examples. All of the venues, and more, are extremely active. From looking through their social media platforms, pretty much every venue holds shows of local artists every single weekend.


Again, the music scene in Philadelphia is so important for a multitude of reasons. It creates a rich culture, it creates communities and connects people together, and it is a hub for art to be made and heard and appreciated.