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The Philly Music Fest has announced this year’s surprise headliner

This year's mystery guest was born in South Africa and is now based in Colorado. But the artist who will headline two shows at Ardmore Music Hall has deep Philly ties.

Gregory Alan Isakov is the Philly Music Fest's mystery headliner. He plays Ardmore Music Hall on October 12 and 13.
Gregory Alan Isakov is the Philly Music Fest's mystery headliner. He plays Ardmore Music Hall on October 12 and 13.Read moreCourtesy of the Artist
    by Dan DeLuca
    Published 

It’s a Philly Music Fest tradition.

The nonprofit, “Our Genre Is Philly” festival that celebrates its 10th anniversary in October, has made a habit of holding back the name of a mystery headliner whose identity can’t be announced until the artist is done playing another previously booked show in the Philadelphia market.

Surprise headliners in recent years that PMF founder Greg Seltzer has brought into the cozy confines of Ardmore Music Hall have included Mt. Joy, Waxahatchee and, last year, Dr. Dog.

This year, it’s Gregory Alan Isakov, the singer-songwriter who was born in South Africa and raised in Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: Philly Music Fest turns 10 with RJD2, Sweet Pill, Dillinger Escape Plan, and a mystery headliner

Isakov now lives on a farm he owns outside Boulder, Colo., where he grows organic salad greens and root vegetables — and records roots music songs, like those on his 2023 album Apaloosa Bones, in his home studio.

The announcement of Isakov’s PMF shows — which will feature openers Cailoa on Oct. 12 and Madi Diaz on Oct. 13 — couldn’t be made until he was done playing with the Philly Pops at the Highmark Mann on Friday night. He also was scheduled to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New York state on Saturday.

This year’s PMF performers — who will raise money for Philly music education organizations including Rock to the Future, Settlement Music School, Beyond the Bars, and Key of She — include Mo Lowda and the Humble, RJD2, Wax Jaw, Sweet Pill, Owen Stewart, Roberta Faceplant, Sug Daniels, Marietta, the Dillinger Escape Plan, and Immanuel Wilkins.

The fest includes nine showcases in six clubs over seven nights. Tickets to each event are sold separately, and are available now for Isakov and all other shows at phillymusicfest.com

    Dan DeLuca
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    I'm The Inquirer's Pop Music Critic. I cover Philly music makers of all genres, spotlighting local acts on the rise, telling stories from throughout the city's rich music history, and reviewing big-name touring acts when they come to town.