At the end of a busy summer, Philly band Snacktime has a new song and a new video
The Philly band has signed with Nashville management company Thirty Tigers, and is set to hit the road with Delco singer Devon Gilfillian
Snacktime has had an excellent summer.
The Philly soul-funk band that got its start busking in Rittenhouse Square in 2020, had high profile gigs this year. That includes the Newport Folk Festival, where they backed up Ms. Lauryn Hill as well as played their own set, and the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago.
Now the septet, which was the house band for Jason Kelce’s ESPN late night TV show, has released a new single. It has also signed with Nashville management company Thirty Tigers, whose clients includes Rufus Wainwright, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, and Rosanne Cash, as well as Philadelphians Amos Lee and Eric Slick.
The new single, “Can’t Imagine Why You’d Stay,” features singer Nico Bryant, who joined the group in 2025, after vocalist and sax player Yesseh Furaha-Ali departed.
The song, which was mixed and produced in Los Angeles and Philadelphia by Josh Lucas, who’s previously teamed with Khalid and Daniel Caesar, shows the continued evolution of the group from its horn-happy busking beginnings.
For one thing, Snacktime is (sometimes) less “horn-y” than it used to be. In the accompanying music video directed by the band’s tenor saxophonist Ben Stocker, sousaphone player Sam Gellerstein plays bass, trumpeter Eric Sherman is on guitar, and trombonist Michael Spearman plays keys.
The band can still shift to a four-horn attack when it pleases, but on the snappy dysfunctional relationship song “Can’t Imagine Why You’d Stay,” the only brass heard is Stocker’s sax.
On Thursday, Snacktime will celebrate its new era with a show that’s free (but you must RSVP) at the Bok Bar in South Philly; a party put on by Ilegal Mezcal as part of its Bar Ilegal tour. Tattoo artist Daniel Cottee will also be on hand.
Snacktime kicks off a tour with Delaware County-bred soul singer Devon Gilfillian on Sept. 14 in Carrboro, N.C. and will play a late night set at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park on Sept. 18. A full Snacktime album is expected in 2027.
Snacktime at the Bok Bar, 800 Mifflin St. on Thursday Sept. 10. at 7 p.m. RSVP at ilegalmezcal.com/barilegal
