Listings are valuable for discovering what's happening around the city, and Philadelphia has no shortage of them. In fact, there might be too many—most sharing similar information, some contradicting each other. Many are also limited by what concert promoters actually want to share, especially when they're trying to keep DIY events under the radar.

Then there's the internet and all its complexity. Social media algorithms, tags, and discovery tools can help or hinder efforts to share information, all while competing for people's shrinking attention spans.

It's easy to miss something cool when you're squinting at an illegible show poster on your phone screen, or to tune out entirely when there's basically no real information about the bands. And let's be honest—anyone booking a show has a vested interest in overselling it.

This is where we come in. We're here to help you cut through the noise and figure out what's actually fun. We believe that writing about music matters, especially what's happening locally, because that's essential to our creative survival. It's also something that's been decimated over the past 20 years—most notably by the closure of our city's alternative weekly circuit.

While we're not a music alternative weekly (not yet—a girl can dream), the best part of that era was running to the newspaper box on Thursday mornings for a fresh copy to see what was highlighted. We'd like to think Sound Advice fills the gap between scanning listings and checking flyers on coffee shop walls.

(The name comes from the previews section of the now-defunct Philadelphia City Paper, where I was a contributor in the early 2000s. If you have a problem with this repurposing, we can settle it the appropriate way: a knife fight under the Gray's Ferry Bridge.)

Ultimately the goal here is that we want you to get out and see some music. And if you can't make it out to a show, we hope this newsletter turns you on to some new music that you check out through an artist's Bandcamp/Ampwall or a record shop.

Subscription Options

I am what they call a "scene lifer" and have deep connections with venues, promoters, fans, artists, and other likeminded outlets. I do this on top of my day jobs. Believe it or not, but writing about shows on a weekly basis—even when the pickings are slim (or absolutely overwhelming)—and getting it prepped for digital distribution is work. Aside from paid subscriptions and tips, Sound Advice is self-funded and our readership has grown entirely from word of mouth.

Subscriptions help cover operational costs such as hosting and keeps the newsletter free for all to enjoy. We've kept subscription costs as low as possible so they're not a barrier to information—and frankly, it's cheaper than most concerts these days.

• Free ($0): You get the weekly newsletter. I think it's nice. It has the picks + some additional resources at the bottom to explore.
• Premium ($3/mo or $20/year): The weekly newsletter + additional content, access to the web version and archives, the ability to comment on posts.

Other ways to support

I get it. Like my mom always said, "I'm not Rockefeller!" Here are other ways you can sustain this work.

• Go see the bands and buy their music. We're not doing this for our health.
• If you like what we're doing and find it useful, tell a friend.
• Post your events on local event calendars. (We dig around, but if we don't know about it, how will anyone else?)
• Reply to an email—reader mail is always appreciated.
• Make a one-time donation through the tip jar.

Your Cruise Ship Director

Maria T (she/her) has been an active participant/annoying presence in the Philadelphia's music community for 20 years as a musician, photographer, booker, on-air radio host at WPRB, and aforementioned City Paper contributor while somehow managing to hold down a day job at the same time. You can visit her online at herjazz.org, which also happens to be Philadelphia's oldest music blog (even if she isn't updating on the reg). She plays music under the wildly creative name Maria T and released her first record, Afternoon Destroyer, in 2022.