The semiquincentennial year in Philadelphia is set to start off with a bang.
The city’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of America will begin on New Year’s Eve with a free concert in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps.
The lineup includes LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff, bassist and bandleader Adam Blackstone, and Los Angeles rock band Dorothy. Technician the DJ, who has toured with the likes of the L.O.X. and Ghostface Killah, is also on the bill.
Afterwards — at midnight — there will be fireworks.
“Philadelphia is thrilled to welcome everyone to our vibrant city as we celebrate New Year’s Eve and kick off the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said in a statement.
“This free concert and fireworks showcases the incredible spirit of our community and the cultural legacy that Philadelphia embodies … Join us for Philly’s first ever New Year’s Eve outdoor concert as we kick off 2026 in America’s Birthplace — this is truly the place to start our celebration of this historic anniversary!,” she said.
Jeffrey Allen Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, poses for a photo in the recording studio section of his home in Bear, Del. in 2023. He’ll perform on New Year’s Eve on the Ben Franklin Parkway as part of the free concert and fireworks dispaly.
For LL Cool J, the New Year’s Eve concert will be a makeup show.
The “Mama Said Knock You Out” and “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” rapper, actor, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was scheduled to play on the Parkway along with Jazmine Sullivan as part of the city’s July 4 celebration this year, but canceled in solidarity with striking municipal workers.
“Philly, don’t call it a comeback,” he said in a statement. “We’ve got unfinished business. Shout out to the Mayor for the invitation! Meet me on the Oval this New Year’s Eve as we bring in 2026 — live.”
Blackstone, who won a best musical theater album Grammy last year for his work on Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen, plans to debut “Brotherly Love,” a song he’s written with Curtis Mayfield’s cousin Cedric Mayfield, at the New Year’s Eve show.
Gates for the free concert open at 6 p.m., and the music starts at 8 p.m.
With Christmas two weeks away, I’m sure the last thing you want is a list of events that distract you from your holiday plans. But believe me, there are too many good ones to pass up. And I, being your guide to what’s happening in Philly, am here to offer what I call “welcome distractions.”
I get it. Finalizing Christmas dinner plans and checking off your last-minute shopping list come first. But between a new Scandinavian sauna retreat, a hot chocolate bar crawl, and an adult night at Legoland Discover Center, there are plenty of ways to pass the time this season.
The holidays are all about tradition — and few Philly traditions run deeper than the DiEmedio family dancing The Nutcracker. Three sisters, each at a different stage in the Philadelphia Ballet pipeline, return to the Academy of Music this year as snowflakes, flowers, and even the occasional piece of candy. Their mother, former company dancer and current schoolteacher Charity Eagens, sometimes takes the stage alongside them. Together, they’ve formed a 12-year-long thread through Balanchine’s classic, a living reminder that this ballet isn’t just a seasonal ritual. For some families, it’s a way of life.
Philadelphia Ballet performs “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” Dec. 5—31 at the Academy of Music.
The best things to do this week
🎄 Want the tree without the hassle? Philly and the suburbs have multiple delivery options that’ll drop a fresh-cut fir — and sometimes even set it up — right in your living room.
❄️ Philly’s first measurable snow is likely early Sunday — up to 3 inches — and the deep freeze will stick around all day. If your plans involve the Eagles game or outdoor events, layer up and plan for wind chills in the teens.
☕ A sip of hot cocoa: Sip the finest of specialty and boozy hot chocolate offerings during East Passyunk’s 4th Annual Hot Chocolate Crawl on Saturday. All you have to do is purchase a commemorative mug to join the fun.
🔨 Unleash the holiday stress: Aspart of Pluto TV’s new Holidays are Brutal campaign, the streaming service is offering a free, one-day-only rage room in Northeast Philly this Thursday. Get in on this furious fun.
🧱 Stack ‘em up: The kiddos can’t have all the fun. On Friday, adults are encouraged to break out their inner child at Legoland for the annual Holiday Bricktacular.
📅 My calendar picks this week: Carols & Cocktails in East Market, uCity Square Holiday Fest, Adult Gingerbread House Decorating at Bloomsday
Thing of the Week: FringeArts is back in year-round action
Big things are ahead for FringeArts in 2026. After a record-breaking Philly Fringe Festival, the organization is restoring year-round programming for the first time since 2020. Kicking off with its Winter—Spring 2026 season, FringeArts will bring four productions from local and international artists to its Old City venue, plus a monthly Scratch Night series where creators share works in progress. Tickets go on sale Friday at fringearts.com — and longtime readers will recognize the byline on Rosa Cartagena’s full story.
Christmas Village features a new 30 foot ‘Christmas Pyramid’ at LOVE Park on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025 in Philadelphia. Christmas Village is open until December 24.
Winter fun this week and beyond
🩰 Philly’s Nutcracker season is in full swing: There are four versions to choose from — classic Balanchine, a new one-act for little kids, a tap-dancing trip through Paris, and a vibrant Chocolate Ballerina Company twist.
🇺🇸 Historic walk across the Delaware: Join thousands at Washington Crossing Historic Park to watch the 73rd reenactment of General George Washington’s daring trek across the Delaware River on Sunday. A second reenactment will take place on Christmas Day.
🎁From Center City’s Christmas Village and Dilworth Park’s Made in Philadelphia market to Bucks County’s Peddler’s Village and Bethlehem’s iconic Christkindlmarkt, these holiday markets are worth a look.
🔵 Filled with lights: This Saturday, the historic Boathouse Row will illuminate nearly 6,400 LED lights in blue and white for Hanukkah. Don’t miss it on your routine walk or drive along Kelly Drive.
🧖🏼♂️ Bask in a steamy Scandinavian tradition: The Ebba Sparre Sauna Collective at the American Swedish Historical Museum is opening a pop-up Scandinavian retreat that offers a steamy solo cedar barrel and group sauna experience. The ancient Swedish tradition is available starting Saturday through March 29, 2026.
🎸 Saturday: Philly pop-punk band the Starting Line, which released its first album in 18 years, plays back-to-back nights at the Fillmore Philly.
🎤 Saturday: Inspired and eccentric Detroit rapper Danny Brown plays the Theatre of Living Arts on South Street on Saturday. He’s touring behind his new album Stardust.
🎤 Sunday: Rapper-turned-rocker MGK is touring behind his new album, Lost Americana, which was accompanied by a trailer narrated by the iconic Bob Dylan. He takes the stage for the “Lost Americana” tour at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday.
🎤 Monday: This year’s Q102’s Jingle Ball, featuring a lineup of musical stars such as Alex Warren, BigXthaPlug, Laufey, Monsta X, Miles Smith, Raven Lenae, and others, will take center stage at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Monday.
The original Fresh Prince, Will Smith, makes a cameo in the final scene ofBel-Air, Peacock’s reimagining of the 1990s hit The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The older, fictional Will has a heartfelt talk with his younger, fictional self (West Philly-born Jabari Banks) on a mountaintop overlooking Los Angeles.
After a tumultuous four seasons in Bel-Air, Will is returning to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania. He’s worried he will forget the life lessons he learned with the Banks family.
Peacock dropped the season finale on Monday.
“You know I used to worry this city would make me forget who I was and where I came from,” the younger Will tells OG Will. “Now that I’m going back home I’m afraid I’ll forget who I became.”
“That’s good,” OG Will replies. “That means you’ve become something worth holding on to.”
OG Will goes on to tell young boul Will not to worry, that no one has all the answers, especially the people who pretend they do. He tells him that he will make mistakes. Then, he conspiratorially leans in as if he’s dropping knowledge forbidden by the Universe that the younger Smith will be OK.
In that moment, you wonder if Smith, the Academy Award-winning actor, is speaking to the 1990s version of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star.
“You are going to mess things up,” the older Smith continues. “You will learn, you will grow. Live. Laugh and cry.”
Then he adds a little levity.
“Eat a cheesesteak,” the older Smith says laughing. “Not every day, because cholesterol is real.”
Show us the lie.
Peacock debuted Bel-Air in 2022, after Kansas City writer Morgan Cooper posted a trailer titled, “What would happen if Will Smith was in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ today?” positioning the classic sitcom as a serious drama with 2020 technology and a modern soundtrack.
The viral video caught Will Smith’s attention, and after swearing he’d never return to the fictional world of Bel-Air, he signed on as one of the show’s executive producers. Shortly after it debuted, Bel-Air became Peacock’s most streamed original series ever, reaching 8 million subscribers.
“I almost played the father,” Smith said, of the role of Lou played by Marlon Wayans. “It just felt like it might be a little too meta, a little too weird.”
Smith’s cameo was a perfect ending to a series that was as emotional as it was nostalgic.
“Life goes by fast, man,” says the older Smith as he closes the series. “Try to enjoy the ride. I’ll let you in on a little secret. We’re going to be all right.”
Douglas Dulgarian sat in Woodlands Cemetery on a sunny West Philly afternoon, talking about why he loves Philadelphia, and Philadelphia music.
“People move here and slowly their music changes,” he said, wearing a throwback Sixers Allen Iverson jersey. “And I was just drawn to how palpable and powerful that was.”
His band They Are Gutting a Body of Water, known as Tagabow to fans — more on that name in a minute — is the most acclaimed Philly act of 2025.
Both the New York Times and the New Yorker have called the band’s Lotto one of the best albums of the year. Rolling Stone called it “heavier than heaven, hotter than hell, bold as love.”
The Tagabow sound is often categorized as shoegaze, the evolving subgenre invented to describe the ethereal sonic schmear conjured by 1990s bands like My Bloody Valentine and Lush. (Musicians appeared to stare at their own feet on stage, hence the name.)
Dulgarian’s music tends to be more rugged and fast-paced, with roots in punk and the guitarist and bandleader’s affection for 1990s bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth. But more than any genre, Dulgarian says, Tagabow belongs in a geographically specific category.
“Are we shoegaze? Are we a punk band?” he asks. “What we are is Philadelphia music. There is a long lineage of Philly music that is very strictly this place.”
From left: They Are Gutting a Body of Water are Ben Opatut, PJ Carroll, Douglas Dulgarian, and Emily Lofing. The Philly band’s new album is “Lotto.” They have shows at First Unitarian Church on Dec. 12, 13, and 19.
Along with prominent indie acts like Alex G and Spirit of the Beehive, Dulgarian names Blue Smiley, Cooking, Horsecops, and Gunk as bands that inhabit the Philly underground scene of house shows and DIY venues that Tagabow is emerging from.
Dulgarian has put out music by many of those artists — as well as breakout artists MJ Lenderman and Wednesday — on his own label Julia’s War, which releases music digitally and on cassette.
Dulgarian, 35, grew up splitting time with his father, a dirt track race car driver, in New York’s Hudson Valley and his mother, who did secretarial work, in North Jersey, “which has a similar kind of brashness” as Philadelphia, he said.
He first started playing guitar when he was 13or 14; skateboarding led him to start to get serious about music, and develop a fascination with Philadelphia.
“The first time I heard punk rock was in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater I,” he recalls, about the video game which, in its second iteration, featured a re-creation of former Philly street skating mecca LOVE Park.
He got serious about making music at 19 during a 13-month stay in a drug rehab facility in Albany, N.Y. “I always say that I don’t want this stuff to define me,” Dulgarian says, speaking of his struggles with addiction. “But it’s so much a part of my story.”
They Are Gutting a Body of Water play facing each other on a stage set up in the middle of the dance floor with their backs to the audience. The Philly band has three upcoming shows at the First Unitarian Church.
Lotto begins with “The Chase,” about a harrowing bout of fentanyl withdrawal this past New Year’s Day. (He’s been clean since then and calls himself “an inactive addict.”) It’s also a love letter to Dulgarian’s girlfriend, Emily Lofing, the band’s bassist. (Her name is tattooed on Dulgarian’s right bicep.)
“She gazes at me lovingly,” Dulgarian talk/sings, recounting waking up to 2025 with Lofing by his side in their West Philly apartment. “The me she remembers, the promising mirage of water in this cruel desert.”
In 2016, while still in New York state, Dulgarian put out an album called topiary with the band Jouska. Playing shows at underground venues like Pharmacy in South Philly, he felt the pull of the tight-knit Philly music community.
He moved here and started performing as They Are Gutting a Body of Water with drummer Ben Opatut, who’s still a member of the band, along with guitarist PJ Carroll.
The band name was the result of a misheard song lyric from Grouper, the California ambient musician Elizabeth Harris.
“All these bands were calling themselves Football Dad or Soccer Mommy,” Dulgarian said. “And I was going to name this band the most psychotic thing I possibly could,” because Tagabow’s music on early releases like 2018’s Gestures Been and 2019’s Destiny XL, “felt incendiary.”
Singer and bandleader Douglas Dulgarian at the railroad tracks adjacent to Woodlands Cemetery, in Philadelphia on Oct. 6, 2025.
Grouper makes “really calming music,” Dulgarian said, but Harris’ lyrics are difficult to hear. “I was singing this song called “Heavy Water / I’d Rather Be Sleeping” incorrectly. I was singing ‘They are gutting a body of water.’”
As a band name, it stuck. “Now it’s my cross to bear,” he said with a laugh.
“Then people started calling us Tagabow, which is an acronym that phonetically makes sense. So we lucked out, I guess.”
Dulgarian loves what he calls the “strangeness” of his adopted city.
“There are places you can go in Philadelphia and you’re like, ‘How can this possibly exist? This can’t be real. It’s like Eraserhead, and how David Lynch was so inspired by Philly.
“It feels so otherworldly in comparison to other places. And the music feels otherworldly sometimes. But it also feels jovial in light of clear anger and dissatisfaction. Every time we go on tour, I come back to this filthy place and I just feel so at home.”
Lotto eschews electronic seasoning, aiming to capture four musicians playing live in the same room. It delivers an emphatic rush from a band poised to find a wider audience that’s now on the same label as Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, and Phish.
The cover image to They Are Gutting a Body of Water’s album “Lotto.”
“I sent it to my mom. She was like, ‘What?! Oh my God!’ I always joke about this, but I set the bar so low with my parents, because I was a drug addict and I tortured them for a long time.
“So for me to be able to point at something and say: ‘Look, it’s happening!’ is great. And I think that really clicked for my mom. She was like: ‘You’re doing pretty well. You’re good at this thing.’”
The band is set to play three shows at the First Unitarian Church to wrap up a U.S. tour for the album, the fourth by the band Dulgarian formed after moving to Philly from upstate New York in 2016.
The church shows on Dec. 12, 13, and 19 will be performed Tagabow-style, with Dulgarian and bandmates facing each other on a custom-made stage in the middle of the dance floor, with the musicians encircled by the crowd.
Lotto consists of 10 tightly disciplined songs that rage on and resolve themselves in just 27 minutes. It kicks up a righteous racket and conjures moments of real beauty as Dulgarian reaches out for human connections in a relentlessly commodified world.
The albummixes self-reflection while reaching for something pure and true, hoping to find peaceful sanctuary in the eye of a hurricane of noise.
It’s the band’s first album to be released on prominent label ATO Records.
“I was thinking about how I seek out brief, artificial reprieves from existence,” said Dulgarian. “And what I was really trying to get at is the American dream, and how hollow it is. That the thing I will remember is not whatever commercial success my band has, but the guy at the corner store I connect with.
“That’s where the title comes from: this whole idea of the lottery and ‘I can change my life if I buy this ticket.’ That the American Dream of convenience — it’s not real. I think the things in life that are worth it are hard to earn.”
They Are Gutting a Body of Water at First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., at 8 p.m. Dec. 12, 13, and 19. r5productions.com.
When Philly artist Amir Bey Richardson first uploaded his rap songs online in 2010, he was told his music was “too corny” to garner an audience.
“I definitely had friends who encouraged me, but I had other friends who used to call it ‘bus driver rap,’” Richardson said. “Or they said, ‘Too many people rap. Get out of here.’”
Today, Richardson is a go-to musician-for-hire for major network shows, including for the Emmy-winning, Philly-set comedy series Abbott Elementary.
Philly artist Amir Bey Richardson in his home studio on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
Richardson, who goes by Bul Bey, knows his music doesn’t have the same musical edge that has long defined Philadelphia’s hip-hop sound. But he makes up for it with his more soulful and personal hip-hop records that speak to his West Philly roots and connect with a wider range of rap fans.
“Philadelphia is one of those cities where rapping is held to a higher standard, so I had to listen to my heart,” he said. “I was an artist whether I wanted to be one or not.”
While his sound didn’t match that of his contemporaries, he believes it sets him apart from other Philly artists.
On the Oct. 22 episode of Abbott Elementary, Richardson’s 2024 track “Elbow Deep” can be heard in the background as characters Gregory and Janine (played by Tyler James Williams and show creator Quinta Brunson), set the vibe for a friendly hangout.
“I lost my mind when I heard it,” Richardson said. “There are some explicit moments in the song, but when I saw the scene, it all made total sense.”
This was the second time Richardson’s music was placed in the hit series.
Back in February 2022, Richardson sent an “awkward” introductory message on LinkedIn to Abbott Elementary music supervisor Kier Lehman. Among the tens of tracks Richardson pulled from his catalog to include in that message, the 2014 single “Where I’m From” struck a chord with Lehman.
Philly artist Amir Bey Richardson at his home studio Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
In early 2023, the Grammy-nominated music supervisor reached out to Richardson to request the use of “Where I’m From” for season two, episode 19, of the show.
Richardson said he’s still processing the achievement. “Sometimes I go back to the episode just to make sure it wasn’t changed,” he said.
That song placement, Richardson said, arrived at a “time of desperation.”
After a decade of making music, Richardson was at a creative crossroads. He was confident in his musical talents, but it felt like there were limited avenues to showcase them. “I felt very lost and desperate,” he said.
He stumbled onto Abbott Elementary like everyone else. Only he paused the TV to find Lehman’s name in the credits and reached out to him months later on the networking platform.
While he’s now “embarrassed” by his direct message to Lehman, the eventual song placement was the first time Richardson was ever paid for his music.
“That was definitely me crossing a threshold,” he said. “And in my mind, I was like, ‘I have to do that again.’”
It would be two years until that would happen. Earlier this year, Lehman reached out to Richardson to use “Elbow Deep.” Richardson approved immediately.
Philly artist Amir Bey Richardson at his home studio Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. He is seen doing the voice-over for a Joel Embiid Skechers commercial.
In the meantime, that first placement opened several creative doors.
Between his role as an event coordinator for the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, Richardson dropped a pair of collaborative EPs with producers Sam Live and Patrick Feliciano. He also contributed music to WHYY programs, such as Albie’s Elevator and The Infinite Art Hunt, and served as host of the Franklin Institute’s So Curious podcast.
He was even tapped to narrate a Skechers ad featuring Sixers star Joel Embiid, showcasing his abilities as a voice-over talent.
It’s all been a surprising path, Richardson said. One that has inspired him to pursue avenues that meld his love of music and Philadelphia.
“It let me know I had a narrower view of what I could do as an artist,” Richardson said. “I wouldn’t say I’m doing unconventional things, but it’s more of a wider range.”
Philly artist Amir Bey Richardson in his home studio Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. He did the voice-over in a new Joel Embiid Skechers commercial, seen on screen.
His goal is to be a more notable name for big-budget shows and eventually land a placement on a blockbuster film. He currently has his sights on Sony’s animated Spider-Man multiverse saga, which Lehman served as the music supervisor for in 2018.
For someone who started out making songs from his college radio station at Pittsburgh’s La Roche University, and now sees his name on TV screens, Richardson has learned to avoid limiting his art and musical reach. And to the friends who previously doubted his abilities, he’s proving his music can take him places he’s never been, including prime-time television.
And, in perhaps bigger news to supporters, if the plan goes through, the screen-used statue that sits at the bottom of the Art Museum steps would be moved to the top thanks to what appears to be a change of heart from the Italian Stallion himself, Sylvester Stallone. Initially, the city planned to give the original statue back to Stallone, who gifted it to Philadelphia decades ago, and keep the other casting that now sits at the top of the Art Museum steps.
“In response to the strong and heartfelt feedback from the public, Mr. Stallone has graciously decided that we will no longer move forward with the proposed statue swap,” chief cultural officer Valerie V. Gay said at Wednesday’s meeting. “This outcome reflects our shared commitment to listening deeply to the community and doing what is best for both the art and the people who cherish it.”
Now, the city would keep the original, commissioned by Stallone for 1982’s Rocky III, while the second casting — reportedly purchased for about $403,000 at an auction in 2017 — would go back into the actor’s private collection. The second casting has been on (supposedly temporary) display at the top of the Art Museum’s iconic steps since last December, when Stallone lent it to the city for the inaugural RockyFest, which celebrates the Rocky franchise.
What will happen, however, remained up in the air following Wednesday’s meeting. Commission members largely cited concerns over accessibility and feasibility with moving the Rocky statue to the top of the Art Museum steps, but ultimately approved the concept on the condition that Creative Philadelphia present further information before a future vote for final approval. The art commission is next slated to meet Jan. 14, members said Wednesday.
The goal, Gay said, is to have only one Rocky statue at the Art Museum, and install another, as-yet-unannounced, city-owned statue at the bottom of the building’s steps where the original Rocky statue now stands.
If approved, the plan would get underway next year. As part of “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” an Art Museum exhibit slated to run from April to August, the original Rocky statue would be displayed inside the museum for the first time, while the loaner remains outside. At the conclusion of that exhibit, the original would be moved outside to the top of the Art Museum’s steps for its permanent installation, and the loaner would go back to Stallone, officials said Wednesday.
Years of moves and debate
Wednesday’s meeting marked yet another chapter in the Rocky statue’s controversial history in town. It arrived for the filming of Rocky III, but when the shoot wrapped in 1981, a permanent location had not been approved, causing it to be shipped back to Los Angeles. It ultimately came back and was temporarily exhibited again at the top of the Art Museum steps before being moved back and forth several times between that location and the Spectrum at the stadium complex in South Philly.
Over the years, the statue has ignited public debate about whether it should be displayed at the Art Museum, and whether it is art in the first place. Still, it has been on display at the foot of the museum’s steps since 2006, where it has served as a draw for tourists and residents alike, attracting an estimated 4 million visitors per year, Creative Philadelphia officials said.
Inquirer readers largely said in September that the statue temporarily installed at the top has overstayed its welcome, with about 46% of respondents to one poll saying no Rocky statue belongs at the top of the steps, but the one at the bottom should stay. Roughly 20% said the city should not have a Rocky statue at all.
Gay, however, said Wednesday that the proposed permanent Rocky statue installation offers a chance to “allow art to bring our community together” and encourage visitors to the statue to take in the art on display inside the museum.
“This is absolutely an amazing opportunity to expand our connection, our community’s connection, with art,” she said.
Quakertown-raised pop star Sabrina Carpenter will be part of the upcoming Met Gala 2026 celebration, Vogue announced on Wednesday.
The Grammy-winning singer will join the Met Gala host committee along with 15 other celebrities, including trailblazing ballerina Misty Copeland, K-pop icon Lisa, model Paloma Elsesser, vocalist Sam Smith, and Wednesday actor Gwendoline Christie.
Cochairs for the illustrious fashion event are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and, as usual, Anna Wintour, the chief content officer of Condé Nast and global editorial director of American Vogue.
The gala will honor the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibit, “Costume Art,” which will pair the Institute’s clothing with museum artwork to explore “depictions of the dressed body across the Met’s vast collection” and “reveal the inherent relationship between clothing and the body.” It will be organized with themes like “the Pregnant Body,” “the Aging Body,” and “the Naked Body.”
The host committee has its own cochairs as well: Caught Stealing actor Zoë Kravitz and Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello.
Sabrina Carpenter attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition on Monday, May 5, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Last month, she wrapped up her “Short n’ Sweet” tour, which stopped in Philadelphia last year. She’s up for six Grammy Awards in 2026, including album of the year, song and record of the year, and best video for “Manchild.”
The “Espresso” singer is known for sporting glittery strapless bodysuits onstage with blond bombshell hair that embraces an aesthetic of old Hollywood glamour. This week, she appeared on Late Night with Seth Myers wearing a vintage black and white Chantal Thomas minidress.
She’s made headlines lately for condemning President Donald Trump’s administration for using her music in a video promoting violent ICE raids that target undocumented immigrants. “This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” she wrote on X last week.
The Bucks County star is the latest celebrity from the Philadelphia region to be part of the Met Gala festivities. Earlier this year, West Philly-raised actor Colman Domingo (who also appeared in Carpenter’s “Tears” music video) served as cochair of the Met Gala 2025, which centered Black dandyism.
It’s December, by far the coldest week of the season to date and due to get colder, but to Jeff Hulbert, the Brandywine Valley these days evoke July — July at the Jersey Shore, that is.
Business has been brisk, and the human traffic thick along State Street, where he and partner Sandra Morris own and operate the popular Portabello’s of Kennett Square restaurant.
Like the peak summer weeks at the Shore, where Hulbert used to work in Atlantic City, this time of year, the Kennett Square area “is twice as busy.” The reason, in a word, is “Longwood.”
Specifically, the annual “Longwood Christmas” festival, an “economic engine” not only for Kennett but for other towns in the region, said Cheryl B. Kuhn, CEO of the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce.
Longwood has played a “significant role in the area’s growth,” said Nancy Toltain, director of hotel operations at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kennett. Some guests book their reservations a year in advance, she said.
This year, the merchants on Kennett Street got a jump on the season by turning on the holiday lights and staging the July Fourth-style parade — complete with Mummers and a marching band — on Nov. 22, a week earlier than usual.
Diners at Portabello’s on Friday evening.
It was no coincidence that the event coincided with the first weekend that Longwood, four miles to the northeast and about twice the size of the borough, was throwing the switch to illuminate about 500,000 lights for its annual “Longwood Christmas” festival.
The exuberance is understandable. The Longwood light show is a cause for celebration among the merchants in downtown Kennett Square, a time when business, shall we say, mushrooms in the so-called Mushroom Capital of the World.
Longwood Christmas is a huge draw — 650,000 people visited last season, which ran from Nov. 22, 2024, to Jan. 11, 2025 — one-third of the annual total. And a whole lot of those who bonded with the plants and the lights ended up in downtown Kennett eating or shopping.
Moving up the Kennett fest paid immediate dividends, said Daniel Embree, executive director of the Kennett Collaborative, a nonprofit development group that works with Kennett businesses.
Downtown merchants reported “record-breaking” sales Thanksgiving week, he said, and it gave them five pre-Christmas weekends to make hay, rather than four. They’re planning an encore early start next year.
Sandra Morris said she and Hulbert will be ready, that in the run-up to the Longwood Christmas, “We know that we need to be staffed up and ready.”
Local business people and tourism officials say the region’s diverse population and attractions, in addition to Longwood, are tourist draws.
The Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, famous for its Wyeth family paintings, not to mention its elaborate toy train set, and northern Delaware’s Winterthur, with a museum renowned for its Americana collection and its walking paths winding through 1,000 pastoral acres, have long lured holiday crowds.
But if the area could be likened to a decorated room, Longwood would be the lighted tree with the star on top.
“If there were no Longwood Gardens, there would be no Portabello’s,” said Hulbert.
About the Gardens and the Longwood effect
The theme for Longwood Christmas in 2021 was Fire and Ice, a study in contrasts.
Longwood Gardens, located on land that Pierre DuPont opened to the public in 1921, is one of the nation’s preeminent horticultural attractions.
It covers about 1,100 acres, the majority of which is in East Marlborough Township, with the rest in Kennett and Pennsbury Townships. (It has a Kennett Square postal address, but none of it is in the borough, popular perception notwithstanding.)
About 1.78 million people visited in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, said spokesperson Patricia Evans, more than double the total of 15 years ago. According to its tax filing for the previous fiscal year, it generated about $35 million in admission and restaurant revenue.
Longwood’s $250 million investment in new buildings and landscaping, part of the “Longwood Reimagined” project, was completed just before last season’s Longwood Christmas, and that likely contributed to a 7% increase in the holiday traffic, compared with last season, Evans said.
All the land and its building are worth about $160 million, according to Chester County tax records.
Close to 90% of that is tax exempt, Longwood having won a landmark case in the late 1990s, but local officials and business people say the region has reaped significant economic benefits from the gardens.
“Longwood is an excellent regional partner,” said Chester County Tourism’s Nina Kelly.
While the biggest impacts have been on local tourism and hotels, the presence of Longwood probably has given a boost to property values in the area, at least indirectly, said Geoffrey Bosley owner of the local real estate concern LGB Properties & The Market at Liberty Place, a food court and event space on State Street.
In Kennett Square, aggregate commercial property values have increased nearly 30% in the last 20 years, adjusting for inflation,state tax records show.
Longwood and Kennett Square
Portabello’s Restaurant with the owners, Sandra Morris and Brett Hulbert.
Kennett Square, literally a square mile, is home to many of those who work in the local mushroom industry. Latino residents constitute about half the borough’s population.
Its median household income, about $75,000, according to Census figures, is among the lowest in Chester County and about half that of some of its wealthier neighboring towns.
Tourism, particularly Longwood-related, has been a huge boon to the businesses by any measure.
While the town has just under 6,000 residents, it has a total restaurant seating capacity of 2,000, said Hulbert.
In all, the downtown has about 150 businesses, said Embree. Part of the allure is Kennett Square’s quaintness and unaffected small-town atmosphere, but Longwood is a huge factor. “That’s why they want to be here,” he said.
Said Hulbert, “When Longwood Gardens is slow, we are slow. When they are busy, we are busy.”
While moving up the Kennett Square’s holiday parade gave sales a healthy boost, “I don’t want to overstate the significance of the date,” Embree said.
Longwood has supported the Kennett Collaborative financially and in other ways, said Embree. The illuminated decorative bunting on State Street was donated by Longwood, a highlight in the conservatory during the 2023 display.
Said Geoffrey Bosley, “I don’t think you would have as robust a town if we didn’t have a Longwood that would drive so much traffic, especially during the holiday season.”
Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński is mobilized for operatic stardom, and then some.
Microphones love his richly colored falsetto voice, magazine covers like his looks. And behind a dense schedule of multiple trans-Atlantic flights, lies a supportive private life that has him rooted in his native Warsaw with fiancée, family, and Labrador retriever.
The Kimmel Center performances of Handel’s Messiah, Dec. 12-14, come as a curious break from solo concerts and high-profile opera productions. Here, Orliński is an equal partner with three high-caliber soloists plus the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
But does he really need to do this?
Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński will be making his Philadelphia debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Handel’s “Messiah.”
“‘Tis the season. I love singing Messiah. It’s one of the best things. That’s why I jumped on the opportunity to sing it with Maestro (aka Nézet-Séguin),” said Orliński, (whose friends call him J.J.) in a Zoom interview from the Montreal airport.
“This is the third time [the Philadelphia Orchestra] invited me to do something. Two years ago it was the Bach Mass in B Minor, but I was too busy. Now I have the time.” Sort of.
Within a two-week period, he will bounce between Montreal, Vienna, and Philadelphia. The precedent of a student visa, dating back to his Juilliard School years (2015-2017), makes the immigration process a little easier, saving him from the kind of entry snafus plaguing many Europe-based artists now.
Passport officials, he says, can’t help chatting him up about Juilliard, even though he has gone on to win numerous awards, is regularly seen in European fashion magazines, has two Grammy Award nominations (among his eight recordings, most of which are on the Warner/Erato label), and generates much comment for appearing shirtless at seemingly every opportunity. And that included his 2021 Metropolitan Opera debut in Eurydice, playing Orpheus’ alter ego.
Erin Morley as Eurydice, from left, Joshua Hopkins as Orpheus and Jakub Józef Orliński as Orpheus’s Double appear during a performance of Matthew Aucoin’s “Eurydice” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in November 2021. (Marty Sohl/Met Opera via AP)
Orliński’s physique gets discussed among concertgoers and critics, much in the spirit of pianist Yuja Wang’s concert attire. Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, now Opera Philadelphia chief, has also appeared similarly exposed at the Met in years past.
Is this a possible smoke screen for lack of talent? No, because in all their cases, their artistry wins out.
Lingering criticism stings though, Orliński admits. But his legions of social media followers do generate ticket sales. Shirt or no shirt, he would always have mixed reactions among chronically opinionated operagoers.
“It’s OK. I am feeling good with what I’m doing and how I‘m doing it,” he said.
His life resembles that of a rock star but doesn’t sound like one. Well, maybe a little bit on his 2024 album, #LetsBaRock, which has Monteverdi bathed in modern electronic sound. “In the time of Monteverdi, they would change the instrumentation,” he said, “and that’s exactly what we did.”
Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński who will be making his Philadelphia debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Handel’s “Messiah.”
He’s good to his word: The vocal tracks could be lifted out of the electronic context and transplanted exactly into a traditional Monteverdi recording. His recordings (so far) stick close to his home ground in the 18th century, often with worthy pieces previously buried by history.
Orliński’s Philadelphia stage debut returns him to the scene of an early-career heartbreak when he was fresh out of Warsaw’s Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. “I did audition for the Curtis Institute in 2014,” he said. “Curtis has this incredible focus on the individual because it’s such a small school. Amazing faculty.”
He didn’t get in for lack of a slot for countertenors — a specialized male-falsetto voice type that has only entered U.S. mainstream opera in the past 30 years, partly thanks to the outreach efforts of fellow countertenor Roth Costanzo.
Baroque opera, the usual launching point for countertenors, wasn’t often performed in Philadelphia at that time.
In Juilliard, he studied with the noted soprano Edith Wiens. During his New York years, he sang some of his first Messiah performances in Carnegie Hall. Only a year out of Juilliard, he released his first album, Anima Sacra, in 2018 with a cover showing him with bare shoulders.
Only a year out of Juilliard, Jakub Józef Orliński released his first album, “Anima Sacra,” in 2018 with a cover showing him with bare shoulders.
At times, one worries he’ll catch a cold.
But not Orliński, whose health regimen helps him keep up a daunting schedule that, in the first two months of 2026, has 15 performances in two Handel operas. Among them is a cross-Europe tour in the titular role in Giulio Cesare in Egitto.
The Philadelphia concerts boast of star soloists Lucy Crowe, Frédéric Antoun, and Quinn Kelsey. Orliński is fine with being a member of this larger ensemble. Though Handel offers no character portrayals to the individual singers, he sees himself and his colleagues as co-conspirators in telling the central story of the Messiah.
“It’s not just re-creating what was written,” he said. “There are places… where you can write your own cadenzas and ornaments.” Like being a rock star from another century.
Philadelphia Orchestra performs Handel’s “Messiah.” Through Dec. 14, Marian Anderson Hall, 300 S. Broad St., Phila. $43-$240. philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org
The Rocky statue sitting atop of Philadelphia Art Museum’s famed steps could soon be there permanently — and the one at the bottom may be going back to the Italian Stallion himself, Sylvester Stallone.
That’s according to a recent proposal from Creative Philadelphia, the city’s office for the creative sector, which is slated to present its proposal at an Art Commission meeting for a concept review Wednesday. The plan, the proposal notes, is endorsed by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Art Museum officials, as well as leaders in the Parks and Recreation department and at the Philadelphia Visitor Center, all of whom filed letters of support.
“This project is about more than relocating a sculpture,” chief cultural officer Valerie V. Gay and public art director Marguerite Anglin wrote in a letter to the Art Commission. “It’s about elevating an artwork that, for decades, has symbolized perseverance, aspiration, and the resilience of the human spirit.”
The statue at the top of the Art Museum’s steps was set there last December as part of the city’s inaugural RockyFest, which celebrates the Rocky franchise. Initially intended to be a temporary installation, that statue — a replica of sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg’s original, made by the artist himself — was lent to the city by Stallone, who purchased it for about $403,000 at an auction in 2017, The Inquirer previously reported.
The statue at the foot of the steps, meanwhile, is owned by the city, and has sat there since 2006, arriving after years of controversy and moves since it appeared in 1982’s Rocky III. Stallone commissioned that statue for the film, and later gave it to the city.
As part of the city’s plan, Philly would swap ownership of the two statues, taking ownership of the statue at the top of the steps, and returning the statue at the bottom “to the original donor’s private collection” following its exhibition inside the Art Museum this spring, the proposal notes.
The city would then “install another City-owned statue at the bottom of the Art Museum steps,” and move the statue at the top back several feet for its permanent installation.
The project would cost an estimated $150,000, the proposal notes. It was not immediately clear what statue would be relocated to the bottom of the steps, or what prompted the exchange of statues.
An Art Commission agenda notes that in its concept review Wednesday, the proposal could receive final approval if it is found to be “sufficiently developed.”
A history of moves
The proposed move marks yet another chapter in the Rocky statue’s storied history in town. It arrived for the filming of Rocky III, but when the shoot wrapped in 1981, a permanent location had not been approved, causing it to be shipped back to Los Angeles. It ultimately came back and was temporarily exhibited again at the top of the Art Museum steps before being moved to an area outside the Spectrum at the stadium complex in South Philly, where it was supposed to permanently stay.
But in 1990, the statue was again temporarily installed at the museum for the filming of Rocky V, reigniting public debate about whether it should remain there. The statue was returned to the stadium complex before being moved in 2006back to the bottom of the museum’s steps, where it has sat ever since.
Gay and Anglin seem to reference the statue’s history in their letter, noting that a permanent installation at the top of the museum’s steps could be an “an opportunity to lean into the evolving conversation about what is considered ‘art’ and what deserves a place in our most treasured civic spaces.”
“The Rocky statue is a clear example of this evolution,” they wrote. “Its artistic significance has not been shaped by institutions, but by the millions of people who engage with it year after year.”
“Rocky is the DNA of this great city of Philadelphia,” Schomberg said in a statement released with the airport statue’s unveiling. “There’s a little bit of Rocky in all of us. Rocky is not just known here in Philadelphia but is known across this country and the world.”
