This week in Philly music features hometown shows from rising emo band Sweet Pill and indie rock harpist Mary Lattimore, bluegrass from the Travelin McCourys, raucous global punk with Gogol Bordello, a cumbia-rock hybrid from Chuck Prophet and a rare appearance from easy listening icon and unlikely TikTok star Engelbert Humperdinck.
Thursday March 19
Sweet Pill
Philly band Sweet Pill continues to come into its own on its brand new second album, Still There’s a Glow. The quintet that formed when singer Zayna Youseff and guitarist Jayce Williams were students at Rowan University in 2018, has followed up its 2022 Where the Heart Is debut with songs that recount struggles with depression and the pressures of adulthood. The band is kicking off a tour across the U.S. and throughout Europe. Heart To Gold and Spaced open. 8 p.m., Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., utphilly.com
The Travelin’ McCourys
The band led by Ronnie and Rob McCoury, the sons of bluegrass patriarch Del McCoury, is carrying on the father’s legacy and passing it down. On the band’s “Young Guns” tour, the bothers and their traveling band mates are spotlighting next generation pickers Izaak Atlas Schwartz, Nikolai Margulis, Derek Kretzer. 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Ave., ardmoremusichall.com.
Friday March 20
Engelbert Humperdinck
Easy listening balladeer Engelbert Humperdinck turns 90 in May, but still maintains a busy tour schedule around the world. The “Release Me” and “After the Lovin’” romancer — who was born Arnold George Dorsey and has sold over 140 million records — might make old fashioned music, but he keeps up with the times as a smooth and savvy social media marketer, with his #TuesdayMuseday posts turning him into a TikTok star. 8 p.m., Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Glenside Ave., KeswickTheatre.com
Westerman
British songwriter Will Westerman recorded his album A Jackal’s Wedding on the Greek island of Hydra with producer Marta Salogni, who’s worked with Bjork, Sampha, and The xx. The synth-driven songs have a haunting simplicity that have earned comparisons to arty rockers like Peter Gabriel. They also recall the unhurried, experimental soundscapes of South Jersey rocker Mk.gee. 8 p.m., Foundry at the Fillmore, 289 E. Allen St., thefillmorephilly.com.
Mary Lattimore & Juliana Barwick
Mary Lattimore was raised in North Carolina and is based in Los Angeles. But this is a hometown gig for the indie rock and ambient music harpist because she was Philly-based in the 2010s, when she frequently collaborated with producer-musician Jeff Zeigler and recorded the immortal “Wawa By The Ocean” in 2017. Lattimore recorded the lovely, entrancing new Tragic Magic on on Los Angeles fires with her neighbor Juliana Barwick. The upstairs sanctuary at the FU Church promises to be the ideal setting for the show. Zeigler opens. 8 p.m., The Sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., r5productions.com
Saturday March 21
Tunnel
Los Angeles indie singer-guitarist Natasha Janfaza leads Tunnel, whose new Ampersand EP draws inspiration from 1990s women of rock like PJ Harvey and Courtney Love of Hole. With Sun Organ, You’re Jovian, and Bleary-Eyed. Ortleib’s, 847 N. 3rd St., 4333Collective.com
Patrick Watson
Canadian songwriter ruptured a vocal cord and lost his voice in 2023, a frightening incident cheekily referred to in the title of his 2025 album Uh Oh, which featured hushed vocals and duets with fellow Canucks like Martha Wainwright. Now Watson has his voice back, and that’s not his only reason to celebrate. He won an Oscar on Sunday for his score to The Girl Who Cried Pearls, which took home the statuette for best animated short film. La Force opens. 8 p.m., Arden Gild Hall, 2126 The Highway, Wilmington, ardenconcerts.com.
Sunday March 22
Geordie Creep
Black Midi singer Geordie Greep’s solo album, The New Sound, which was partly recorded in Brazil, is packed with theatrical in-character story songs and dramatic tempo shifts. Greep performs at 7:30 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, ArdmoreMusicHall.com
Joyce Manor
Pop-punk veteran Joyce Manor is still charged and raring to go on I Used To Go To This Bar, the seventh album for the California band fronted by Barry Johnson. It was produced by Bad Religion’s Brent Gurewitz. With Militarie Gun, Teen Mortgage and Combat. 8 p.m., Fillmore Philly, 29 E. Allen St., thefillmorephilly.com
Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter is an innovative jazz guitarist with dazzling but never showy technique and a prodigious output. His discography lists over 30 albums since his 1993 The Charlie Butler Trio debut, the most recent being The 1966 Fender Mustang Songbook. 7:30 p.m., 118 North Wayne Ave. Wayne, 118NorthWayne.com
Tuesday March 24
Gogol Bordello
Gogol Bordello wants you to know that its hyperenergetic polyglot punk music is entirely sincere. The new album by the Eugen Hûtz-led band is called We Mean It, Man!, and it takes the long view on ultimately optimistic songs like “Life Is Possible Again,” “Hater Liquidator,” and “Ignition.” That last song sports a video featuring Liev Schreiber. Puzzled Panther and Boris and the Joy open. 8 p.m., Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., utphilly.com.
Wednesday March 25
Chuck Prophet & His Cumbia Shoes
Chuck Prophet’s fruitful 40-year career as a rootsy indie rocker took a turn when he was diagnosed with cancer and found a lifeline in listening to Colombian cumbia records while undergoing chemotherapy. After his illness was successfully treated, the San Francisco songwriter discovered the Salinas, Calif. band ¿Qiensave?. He teamed up with the band on Wake the Dead, an album which contains some of the best music he’s ever made. Philly funk-soul band Ndichu opens. 7:30 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, ArdmoreMusicHall.com