Philadelphia is a must-visit destination for the music lover. The city has one of the country’s strongest musical legacies, and it’s a legacy that continues today. Some of the hottest and most influential talents in the entertainment business are based in Philly. From the masterful musical creations of Gamble & Huff and Philadelphia International Records, to jazz icons like John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and Grover Washington, to the smooth vocals of Boyz II Men, to today’s soul and hip-hop artists such as Jill Scott, Jazmine Sullivan and The Roots, the sound of Philadelphia continues to evolve and influence music on a national and international level.

 Philly 360° Music Legacy Sites

Philadelphia International Records and the TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) Souvenir Shop

309 Gamble & Huff Walk (S. Broad Street) | (215) 204-6632 

Philadelphia International Records is home to the world-famous Sound of Philadelphia and of legendary songwriting and producing duo Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers penned and produced more than 3,000 songs, including hits for Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, The Jacksons and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. While at the shop, check out the autographed walls, memorabilia all around and live performances from local stars of past, present and future. Listen to Kenny Gamble's podcast here.

Insider fact: Philadelphia International Records is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2011, and in 2012, Gamble & Huff will celebrate 50 years as partners.

Watch the below video to see what DJ Jazzy Jeff, Musiq Soulchild and Marsha Ambrosius all had to say about the Gamble & Huff legacy.

Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts 

738 S. Broad Street | (215) 893-9912 

Founded in 1966, the Clef Club once counted John Coltrane, Grover Washington, Jr. and Nina Simone among its members. The club continues today as a center for jazz education and performance and cultivates musicians who work with some of today’s biggest artists such as Branford Marsalis and John Legend.

Marian Anderson House 

762 S. Marian Anderson Way (Martin Street) – West of Broad Street | (215) 732-9505 

Marian Anderson captivated the world with her exceptional contralto voice. The Marian Anderson Historical Society provides tours of the home she purchased in 1924 and hosts musical performances by aspiring classical artists throughout the year.

Tindley Temple United Methodist Church


750-762 S. Broad Street | (215) 735-0442 

The Father of Gospel Music, Dr. Charles Albert Tindley, who composed more than 60 hymns and songs such as "Stand by Me," was a pastor at this gospel-rich church. 

Insider Tips & Facts

Insider fact: Creative and Performing Arts High School (CAPA)

Boyz II Men, ?uestlove and Black Thought of The Roots, Jazmine Sullivan, Bilal, Christian McBride, Tamika Patton, Karen Malina White and Joey DeFrancesco all are alumni of CAPA.  Located on the Avenue of the Arts at 901 S. Broad Street, CAPA is housed in the restored Ridgeway Library built in 1878. 

Insider tip: Philadelphia Walk of Fame 

The Avenue of the Arts’ Walk of Fame stretches between Walnut and Spruce Streets along South Broad Street, featuring plaques dedicated to Philly’s music legends, like Boyz II Men, Phyllis Hyman, Will Smith, Marian Anderson, Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Chubby Checker, Teddy Pendergrass, DJ Jazzy Jeff and many more.  Listen to Jazzman Warren Oree talk about the Walk of Fame here.

Insider fact: Freedom Theatre

Freedom Theatre is the oldest African-American theater company in Pennsylvania, providing an acclaimed performing arts training program and special performances.

Live Legacy Music Venues

Experience Philly’s music scene for yourself at some of our legacy music hotspots. Philly has great music on any given night of the week. From blues to hip-hop and jazz to soul, we’ve got you’ve covered. Check out our current event listing here.  Here are some of our top legacy venue picks:

Chris’ Jazz Café

1421 Sansom Street | (215) 568-3131 

Jazz, jazz fusion

Electric Factory

1231 Vine Street |(215) 569-9400 

All genres

Johnny Brenda’s

1201 N. Frankford Avenue |(215) 739-9684 

All genres

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

260 S. Broad Street | (215) 839-1999 

All genres, theater, dance

Relish Restaurant

7152 Ogontz Avenue | (215) 276-0170 

Jazz, blues, soul, R&B

Theatre of the Living Arts (TLA)

334 South Street | (215) 922-1011

All genres

Tower Theater

69th & Ludlow Streets (Upper Darby) |  (610) 352-0887

All genres

The Trocadero (The Troc)

1003 Arch Street |(215) 922-6888 

All genres

Warmdaddy’s

1400 Columbus Boulevard | (215) 462-2000

Blues, jazz, soul, R&B

World Café Live

3025 Walnut Street | (215) 222-1400 

All genres, world music

Check out our full listing of the most current live music events here.

Annual Festivals & Events

Philly is full of concerts and festivals all summer long including:

The Roots Picnic (June)

The Roots take over Penn’s Landing Festival Pier each year with a hand-picked line up of the hottest hip hop and rock acts around.

Odunde Festival (June)

One of the most longstanding African-American street festivals in the nation.

West Oak Lane Jazz & Arts Festival (June)

Thousands of jazz and art lovers descend upon the Northwest neighborhood of Philadelphia every year for this multi-day music festival.

Wawa Welcome America! (June-July)

Philly’s 4th of July celebration has so many fireworks shows, concerts and other free activities that it takes days to do it all.

Multicultural Affairs Congress’ Global Fusion Festival (July)

This week-long festival presented by the Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC) offers a diverse line up of musicians, dancers and singers who will entertain audiences on the waterfront at Penn’s Landing.

Penn’s Landing’s concert series (throughout summer)

Penn’s Landing’s Smooth Jazz Summer Nights keeps things smooth and cool during the summer.

The Mann Center for the Performing Arts concert series (throughout summer)

Under the summer skies, concert goers not only enjoy amazing music and performances,

but they also get one of the best views of Philly’s skyline.

The Dell East Music Center concert series (throughout summer)

The newly reopened and renovated outdoor concert space has the community and music lovers filling the seats all summer long.  Check out the video below from when Brian McKnight and Kindred the Family Soul performed at The Dell.

Philly 360° Legacy is your guide to African-American history in Philadelphia—from the President’s House and Mother Bethel, which highlight Philadelphia as a center for abolition and civil rights, to the African American Museum in Philadelphia and PHILADANCO spotlighting Philadelphia’s cultural legacy and significance. Here is list of our top historic sites and cultural attractions.

Historic Philadelphia Legacy Sites

The African American Museum in Philadelphia

701 Arch Street  | (215) 574-0380 

The perfect starting point for your African-American tour, the museum invites visitors to experience face-to-face encounters with the bold and fearless people who helped form our nation through its acclaimed core exhibit Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia 1776-1876. The exhibition provides a multimedia historical overview of the African-American story with videos, a detailed, interactive timeline and more.  Every month, the museum features events like art exhibitions, storytelling, historical character interpretations, film series and musical celebrations, almost all of which are free with admission.

Insider Tip: Check out special programming during Kwanzaa (December-January), Martin Luther King’s Birthday (January) and Black History Month (February)

The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation

6th & Market Streets (Historic District) 

Just steps from the Liberty Bell, the President’s House deals with the paradox of slavery and freedom and commemorates the lives of the nine enslaved Africans who lived and worked in the first executive mansion when George Washington was president. The innovative outdoor site features video, original archaeology and glass interpretive panels, all telling different perspectives of this complex and powerful story.

Liberty Bell Center

6th & Market Streets (Historic District)  | (800) 537-7676 

The Liberty Bell was not only used for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, but in the 1800s, it also became a symbol of the anti-slavery movement. The Bell continues to be used as an international symbol of freedom today.

Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and Richard Allen Museum

419 S. 6th Street (Historic District) | (215) 925-0616 

Standing on the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans, perhaps no site is more sacred than Mother Bethel. The church is one of the first independent black churches in the nation and has remained a center of social activism since the 1700s. The museum features original artifacts dating back to the 1500s. Listen to Bishop Leath talk about the history of Mother Bethel here.

Insider tip: Mention Philly 360° at the Blacksmith Shop to receive 10% off your purchase.

Once Upon a Nation Storytelling Benches

Throughout Historic Philadelphia, begin at the Independence Visitor Center, 6th & Market Streets | (215) 629-4026 

Memorial Day – Labor Day, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

What’s more pleasant than taking a break on a cozy bench on a summer day?  How about listening to fun, exciting and sometimes silly tales of the history of Philadelphia from trained storytellers?  Kids can request a flag at any of the benches, collect stars after visiting each bench and redeem fun, free prizes after collecting stars from all thirteen benches.

Insider Tip: Give the secret password—available at the Independence Visitor Center—to storytellers, and they’ll reveal tales about Underground Railroad heroes such as James Forten, Oney Judge and Jane Johnson.

Insider Tips & Facts

Insider tip: Independence Visitor Center
Offering tickets to Independence Hall (free, timed tickets), Mural Arts tours, the National Constitution Center and various city tours and attractions, the Independence Visitor Center is a convenient stop at any point during your stay (especially the beginning part of your visit), located at 6th & Market Streets. In addition to two cafés, the Center features revolving exhibitions, free short movies, a gift shop and free wireless internet access.

Insider tip: President Obama’s "A More Perfect Union"

While in Historic Philadelphia, stop by the National Constitution Center (525 Arch Street) and look for President Barack Obama’s signed copy of his famous speech on race, “A More Perfect Union.”

Insider tip: Trace Your Genealogy

Trace your genealogy at The National Archives at Philadelphia (900 Market Street, entrance on Chestnut Street between 9th & 10th Streets)—and on select Wednesdays, take part in their genealogy workshops between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. Experience free exhibits exploring how “We, the people” have worked to make the American democracy apply to everyone, and connect to your family’s story.            

 West Philadelphia Legacy Sites

The African Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology

3260 South Street | (215) 898-4000

The African gallery here is probably the closest you’ll come to visiting an entire continent in one day. Materials on display come from a collection that includes more than 11,000 items from throughout the vast land of Africa. The museum’s annual Celebration of African Cultures and its extensive ancient Egyptian galleries and programs always draw a crowd.

Paul Robeson House

4949-4951 Walnut Street | (215) 747-4675 

Renaissance man Paul Robeson was an actor, orator, activist, lawyer, author, linguist, athlete, singer, scholar and human rights activist. Tour the West Philadelphia home where he lived during the last 10 years of his life.

PHILADANCO

9 N. Philadanco Way (40th & Market Streets) | (215) 387-8200 

Joan Myers Brown founded The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) in 1970 to provide opportunities for Black dancers. PHILADANCO has since become an internationally sought out contemporary dance company, known for its high-energy performances and exceptionally well-trained precision dancers and eclectic choreography. You can see the company perform at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, located at 260 S. Broad Street, each spring and fall.

Insider tip:  Catch PHILADANCO's annual holiday performance, Xmas Philes.

Underground Railroad Museum at Belmont Mansion

2000 Belmont Mansion Drive (Fairmount Park) | (215) 878-8844 

With stunning views of the city skyline, the mansion, located atop Belmont Plateau, was the home of well-known abolitionist and early federal Judge Richard Peters. The Women’s Heritage Society offers docent-led and       self-guided tours of the museum Tuesday through Friday and on weekends by appointment.

Insider Fact: Belmont Plateau, referenced in “Summertime” by Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, is also featured in the duo’s music video.

Historic Germantown Legacy Sites

ACES MUSEUM

5801-5803 Germantown Avenue (Historic Germantown) | (215) 842-3742 

The ACES MUSEUM is a rarity, in that its sole purpose is to honor African-American and minority veterans of World War II and their families.  ACES is also home to the Puppets with History and Reenactment Programs. The museum offers free admissionon on Tuesday afternoons.

Cliveden of the National Trust

6401 Germantown Avenue (Historic Germantown)  | (215) 848-1777 

Home to the wealthy and influential Chew family and the scene of the Revolutionary Battle of Germantown in 1777, Cliveden offers guided tours of the mansion. New research into Chew’s papers reveals much about slavery and the daily life on Northern plantations.

Concord School House and Upper Burying Ground

6309 Germantown Avenue (Historic Germantown)  | (215) 844-1683 

By the 1850s, African Americans had begun to rent this first English-language schoolroom to teach penmanship and host meetings to advance the abolitionist cause and education for African Americans. Tour this original one-room schoolhouse.

Insider’s Tip: Make time to tour the burying ground outside of the schoolhouse, which is the final resting place of soldiers of the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War.

Johnson House Historic Site

6306 Germantown Avenue (Historic Germantown)  | (215) 438-1768 

The Johnson House Historic Site is a certified station stop on the Underground Railroad, where archaeologists recently discovered an attic trap door that hid freedom seekers. Visitors can see the door and other unique features of the house during guided tours.

Deschler-Morris House

The Germantown White House

5442 Germantown Avenue | (215) 597-7130 

While many people look to Washington D.C. as the original White House, those in the know know that Philadelphia is home to the oldest presidential residence in the United States.  The Deschler-Morris House was the summer home of President George Washington and after an extensive renovation, now features multimedia components that allow visitors to get a glimpse into the private life of the nation’s first commander-in-chief.

Additional Insider Tips & Facts

Insider fact: The Philadelphia Tribune

The oldest, continually published African-American newspaper in the nation, The Tribune, founded in 1884, remains a strong voice in Philadelphia’s African-American community. It’s published three times a week and available at newsstands around town.

Insider fact: Philadelphia Museum of Art

African-American architect Julian Abele played a large role in designing the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Insider fact: Church of the Advocate

One of the best American examples of Gothic Revival style, the Church of the Advocate was a center for the Civil Rights Movement and was the site for the National Conference of Black Power in 1968 and the Black Panther Conference in 1970. Today, the functioning church features powerful murals depicting “stations” of the Civil Rights Movement. The Church also hosts performances and programs presented by Art Sanctuary (see below listing).  Listen to former Pastor Isaac Miller talk about the history of Church of the Advocate and Art Sanctuary here.

Insider fact: Art Sanctuary

Art Sanctuary uses the power of black art to transform individuals, unite groups of people and enrich and draw inspiration from the inner city. The organization presents lectures, performances and educational programs at its large performance venue the Church of the Advocate at 1801 W. Diamond Street and at its gallery at 628 S. 16th Street. Art Sanctuary’s largest signature program, the Celebration of Black Writing takes place during the first weekend in June at Temple University. Art Sanctuary is opening it's new space, details here.  Listen to former Pastor Isaac Miller talk about the history of Church of the Advocate and Art Sanctuary here.

Insider tip: Brandywine Workshop

A major force in the creation, development and promotion of printmaking as a fine art, Brandywine Workshop has exhibitions and a great store featuring high quality affordable prints.