Philly music this week with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, Mt. Joy, Sex Pistols, Phoebe Bridgers, and AC/DC

This week in Philly music ushers in fall with some of the last outdoor shows of the year, with Willie Nelson and Neil Young at the Highmark Mann, Mt. Joy and Gorillaz in Camden, and AC/DC in South Philly. Slayyter, the Sex Pistols, and Phoebe Bridgers are also in town, and the Bob Dylan musical returns for a month long run in Old City.

Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival skipped Philly this summer, but then this double legend show arrived as a sweet surprise. In the run up to Saturday’s Farm Aid concert in Virginia, Nelson & Family — including sons Micah and Lukas, plus longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael — will be joined by Young, always a brilliant live performer. He’s just released his 50th album, the terrific Second Song, that considers the rages of time while looking death in the eye. Young is playing with the Chrome Hearts, which includes Micah Nelson and Muscle Shoals keyboard player Spooner Oldham. 7 p.m., TD Pavilion at the Highmark Mann Center, highmarkmann.org.

Catherine Grace Garner — aka Slayyyter — refers to herself as The Worst Girl In America in the title to her third album. The follow up to her 2023 LP whose title cannot be published here, however, is a grimy, energized, and fairly addictive playtter of hyper-pop that when, all is said and done, is likely to stand out as one of the best records of the year. Pearly Drops open. 8 p.m., Fillmore Philly, 29 E. Allen St., thefillmorephilly.com.

Philly guitarist Mike Polizze has mainly been playing shows under his own name, but this show is a proper full band Purling Hiss gig. The Polizze-fronted power trio that debuted in 2009 was most recently heard from with the heavy rock of 2023’s excellent Drag on Girard. Marathon ’77 and Emily Robb round out the all-Philly bill. 6 p.m., Spruce Street Harbor Park, 301 South Columbus Blvd, delawareriverwaterfront.com

Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s Girl From the North Country is set in a boarding house during the Great Depression in Duluth, Minn., where Bob Dylan lived the first six years of his life. The show, which came to the Forrest Theatre in 2024, begins a month-long run at the Arden. What sets it apart from typical jukebox musicals is the quality of the writing — McPherson’s and Dylan’s — and the song selection, which includes some of Dylan’s best known compositions, but also less familiar choices, such as “Sign on the Window,” “Lay Down Your Weary Tune,” and “Pressing On.” 7 p.m. or 2 p.m., Tuesdays-Sundays through Oct. 25, Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. 2d St., ardentheatre.org

Can we really pretend its the Sex Pistols without John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten? The band’s former frontman — who is playing with Public Image Ltd at Union Transfer on Oct. 2 — has said Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, and Paul Cook playing with new singer Frank Carter is “karaoke.” Fans who might be tired of Lydon’s antics, however, will find in Carter a punk veteran who throws himself entirely into the performance of songs they dearly love. 8:30 p.m., Fillmore Philly, 29 E. Allen St., thefillmorephilly.com.

The onset of autumn is Mt. Joy back home in Philly time. In recent years, the “Astrovan” band founded by Conestoga High School graduates Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper, has played the Mann Center in Fairmount Park at the tail end of the outdoor music season.

This year, the quintet is touring behind its 2025 album Hope We Have Fun, and is crossing the river to Camden on its “10 Years of Mt. Joy” tour. Snacktime opens. Conshohocken band Mid Sentence, winners of this month’s Local Noise Philadelphia battle of the bands at Brooklyn Bowl, which was awarded with an opening slot on the Pavilion’s Plaza Stage. 8 p.m., Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd, freedommortgagepavilion.com

Does Tom Jones often come to Atlantic City to play casino show rooms? It’s not unusual. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Now 86 years old, the Welsh Elvis, who has had hits with “What’s New, Pussycat?” and “It’s Not Unusual,” remains a powerful voiced showman. Check out the clip of him singing Leonard Cohen’s “Tower Of Song” on The Voice UK. 8 p.m., Borgata Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, borgata.mgmresorts.com.

The Haverford Music Festival is actually in Havertown, on the grounds of the Oakmont School. This year’s acts on two stages include New York singer-songwriter Shannon McNally, New Jersey bluegrass and country outfit Demolition String Band, and Philly vocalist Abby Lee. Philadelphia Englishman Wesley Stace, whose new album One Last Heist marries jazz and soul grooves with narratively sophisticated songwriting, is a late add to the bill. Free. 12 p.m., Eagle and Haverford Roads, Havertown, haverfordmusicfestival.org.

The annual Ardmore gig for Hooters drummer Uosikkinen’s all-star Philly band will honor Pierre Robert, the late DJ who was a regular at ITP shows. The band’s new single is a cover of the Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around,” a Thom Bell-Phil Hurtt composition sung in a new rendition by John Faye. Along with local luminaries such as recent Philly Music Walk of Fame inductee Pablo Batista, Tommy Conwell, and Richard Bush of the A’s, expect original E Street Band drummer Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez. 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, ArdmoreMusicHall.com

On The Mountain, Damon Albarn augments his virtual band with many guests, including Anoushka Shankar, Black Thought, Asha Puthli, and Johnny Marr. The death haunted album also features collaborations from Dennis Hopper and Bobby Womack who recorded with Gorillaz before their own deaths. 8 p.m., Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd, freedomortgagepavilion.com

Georgia-raised songwriter Katie Pruitt has distinguished herself as a folk-country artist of the first order since her 2020 debut Expectations through to the new Fools For The Fleeting. As a writer who always comes off as honest and intelligent in her efforts to make sense of modern life, as well as being unafraid to tackle touchy subjects, such as on “White Lies, White Jesus And You” from 2023’s Mantras. Next of Kin opens. 7 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, ArdmoreMusicHall.com

Phoebe Bridgers has laid low since selling out the Mann Center with boygenius in 2023, but now she’s back in a big way. She stoked the ardor of her fan base with pop-up shows around the U.S. before releasing the moody, compelling, and intensely personal Lost Weekend, whose many guests include Havertown’s own Alex G. She also has a co-starring role alongside Robert Pattinson in the upcoming Primetime, for which she’s written the song “On Video.” 8 p.m., Xfinity Mobile Arena, 3601 S. Broad St. xfinitymobilarena.com

The Australian hard rock band’s “Power Up Tour” will be powering down after this show at the Linc, the final date after two and a half years on the road. Could this be the last time ever in Philadelphia for the band whose 1980’s Back in Black trails only Michael Jackson’s Thriller as the second best selling album of all time. Taylor Momsen’s the Pretty Reckless opens. lincolnfinancialfield.com