Dan turns again to the always vibrant Philadelphia music community for messages about their year, what wowed them in 2023, and some of their favorite tracks from Philadelphia artists. Featuring dispatches from Helen Leicht, John Vettese, Julia Pratt, Andrea Quinn, Cosmo Baker, Brian Seymour, Jenn Coulter, and Nate Runkel, as wel as their picks of favorite songs that came ouf of Philadelphia this year. And dan even makes his own year end message and one of his picks as well. Use the clickable playlist below to support the artists featured on 2023's year end wrap up. Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and here's to a great 2024.
2) Night Windows- Something Simple
3) Amos Lee- Greenville. (Helen Leicht)
4) Slaughter Beach, Dog- Float Away. (John Vettese)
5) Daphne Ellen- Old Money (Julia Pratt)
6) Sweet Pill- Chewed Up. (Andrea Quinn)
7) Reef The Lost Cause- Umar’s Revenge. (Cosmo Baker)
8) Jamie and the Guarded Heart- Shake. (Brian Seymour)
9) The Hirs Collective- Unicorn Tapestry Woven In Fire. (Jenn Coulter)
10) Speedy Ortiz- You S02 (Nate Runkel)
11) Tubey Frank- Some Beat Revival
Emily Drinker is one of the hardest working singer-songwriters in Philadelphia, and Dan was delighted to finally get a chance to talk to her. Emily talks about growing up surrounded by music, singing and musical theater, feeling out of her league at Barnard as an undergrad, discovering a capella, taking jazz theory as a vocalist, and how a job as a cruise ship performer made her hone her skills very, very quickly. Dan and Emily dive into how she hit the ground runing when she moved back to the Philadelphia area, writing with a deadline, and how you have to let the rest of your life take priority for a bit. You can find Emily's catalog wherever you get your digital music, including her latest single, "5th Ave". Follow her on the socials at @emilydrinker, and on her YouTube.
Dan sits down with Paddy McCann and Eric Cooper (remember Coop from #183?) to talk about their band, Muskrat Flats. Paddy talks about the band forming as a recording project with his brother Matt, and the new lineup of the group, including Eric joining just a year ago. Jams, improv, touring, pedal nerdery, an amount of Phish talk (obviously), and the importance of hitting those smaller markets as a gorwing regional band, it's all in there. Go to Muskrat Flat's Bandcamp for a vareity of live recordings, the band is currently finishing up an LP coming out in January 2024.