Kurt Vile, Marian Hill, and Schoolly D will headline the 2023 Philly Music Fest

Greg Seltzer finally got his wish.

Every year since the Ballard Spahr attorney and local music scene booster founded the Philly Music Festival in 2016, he’s tried to book the artist most commonly identified as the face of the Philadelphia indie rock scene.

“This is year seven of Philly Music Fest, and in each of the seven years, there’s been an offer in to Kurt Vile,” says Seltzer, speaking of the fest that presents local bands at independent venues while raising money for music education organizations.

“There’s been a reach out to say, ‘Is Kurt interested, and available?’ And for six years, it’s been ‘Interested — but not available.’ He was on tour, or playing two shows at Union Transfer. It just hasn’t worked out, due to scheduling.”

This year though, Vile — who has been sticking close to home in Mount Airy for longer stretches these days — finds himself free in October.

And so the rocker, whose finger-picked Zen meditation “Pretty Pimpin” recently topped 100 million streams on Spotify, will kick off this year’s PMF on Oct. 9 and 10 with two Ardmore Music Hall shows, backed by his band the Violators.

Besides Vile — whose opening night bill will also feature original gangsta rapper Schoolly D — the attractions at the fest, whose slogan is “Our Genre Is Philly,” are many and spread over seven nights.

An Oct. 11 evening World Cafe Live takeover will showcase six bands in the downstairs Music Hall and upstairs Lounge, headlined by Marian Hill — the electro-pop duo of Samantha Gongol and Jeremy Lloyd — soul-singer Ryan Gilfillian, indie rock quartet Sadurn, jazz duo Trap Rabbit, and vocalists Julia Pratt and Sofie Coran.

An Oct. 12 bill at Johnny Brenda’s will feature Tiger’s Jaw, the Allentown quartet fronted by Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins. Yowler, the band fronted by Columbus, Ohio-to-Philly transplant Maryn Jones, will also be playing.

Philly rock band Mo Lowda & the Humble plays MilkBoy Philly on Oct. 13 with indie trio Grocer, multi-instrumentalist Moustapha Noumbissi, and acoustic sextet Cheddar Boys. Reunited Philly emo legends Algernon Cadwallader are on the Oct. 14 bill that also includes Knifeplay, Church Girls, and Huey, the Cosmonaut, at Underground Arts.

The fest comes to a snazzy conclusion with an Oct. 15 double bill at Solar Myth in South Philly. Charlie Hall, the War on Drugs drummer and producer of the Eagles’ A Philly Special Christmas, whose solo debut Invisible Ink is due May 12, is putting together an all-star band to cover Herbie Hancock’s 1973 jazz fusion masterwork Head Hunters.

Guitarist Chris Forsyth will lead a band to cover in its entirety another 1973 album celebrating its 50th anniversary: Carlos Santana and Mahavishnu John McLaughlin’s Love Devotion Surrender.

» READ MORE: Kurt Vile wants to be a stay-at-home rock dad

In addition to headlining, Vile chose his own opening acts. Including Schoolly-D — the West Philadelphia rapper whose 1985 hits “PSK: What Does It Mean?” pioneered what would be known as gangsta rap. Guitarist Emily Rabb opens for Vile on opening night, while heavy rock trio Purling Hiss and suburban Philly country-rock outfit Florry open for him the following night.

“Sun Ra Arkestra blew my mind at Ardmore Music Hall shortly before the pandemic and I’ve been excited to play there ever since,” Vile said in a statement.

“I can’t believe we get to play with Schoolly, he was the first person I requested actually … when I heard he agreed I definitely lost it a little bit. It’s just a Philly family affair all around, baby.”

Last year, the PMF donated $100,000 to music programs such as Settlement Music School, Rock to the Future, Beyond the Bars, and Live Connections. Seltzer said that amount was up from $15,000 the festival’s first year, when it took place in just one venue. An accountant as well as an attorney, Seltzer estimated that the PMF, which pays bands their going rate rather than asking them to donate their services, contributes an aggregate annual impact of $400,000 to the local economy.

Philly Music Festival tickets are sold for each individual venue night, though there is a two-night Ardmore Music Hall pass available. Tickets ago on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at phillymusicfest.com