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Parks On Tap's Twilight Music Festival to bring Philly bands to MLK Drive

The free music series kicks off July 9 with Taylor McFerrin and runs for eight consecutive Sundays.

Guitarist Steve Gunn will play as part of the Twilight Music Festival.
Guitarist Steve Gunn will play as part of the Twilight Music Festival.Read moreConstance Mensch

Starting July 9, the Twilight Music Festival will bring live bands – and beer – to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on the west bank of the Schuylkill for eight consecutive summer Sundays.

They're calling it a festival, but it's really a music series, kicking off with Taylor McFerrin and closing out with The Dove & The Wolf on Aug. 27. It's part of the Parks on Tap Jr. program of mini-beer garden set ups that extends the brand of Parks On Tap, the roving beer garden program put on by Philadelphia's Parks & Rec Dept. with the Fairmount Park Conservancy and local impresario Avram Hornik's Four Corners Management.

Highlights of the smartly curated (by Johnny Brenda's honcho Greg Mungan) lineup include Alec Ounsworth's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on July 16, the fabled and fabulous Sun Ra Arkestra on July 23 and Lansdowne-raised ace guitarist Steve Gunn on Aug. 20. The beer garden, with food trucks and "family friendly activities" will be open from 12 noon to 10 p.m. each Sunday, with the music happening from 7 to 9 p.m.

The beer garden will be found on MLK Drive near the Dragon Boat dock. Traffic is restricted on Sundays, so ride your bike. Tickets are free but an RSVP at TwilightMusicFest.com site is required.

The full band schedule is here.

July 9th – Taylor McFerrin
July 16 – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
July 23 – Sun Ra Arkestra
July 30 – Worldtown Soundsystem
August 6 – Bardo Pond
July 13 – Grandchildren
August 20 – Steve Gunn
August 27 – The Dove & the Wolf