Philadelphia is a city that prides itself on family, a sentiment that was turned up to 11 last night at a packed house Johnny Brenda’s. The “Hardcore Friends Show,” presented by Matt DiMaio for his 9th annual birthday benefit, was every bit a living retrospective of a twenty-year friendship with some of the artists who would perform there. The evening served as a massive win for the city’s music education ecosystem, raising funds for the Philadelphia Music Alliance, Musicopia, and the MIC’d Up (Music Industry Classrooms) program. (Philadelphia is fortunate to benefit from a number of charity concerts each year, including the Philly Music Fest, where last year’s surprise underplay was Dr. Dog.)
The mission of these nonprofits is to bridge the gap between early music education and career sustainability, a cause championed by emcee Scott Franzke, the radio voice of the Philadelphia Phillies. A longtime advocate for Musicopia, Franzke highlighted how the arts contribute to the city’s vibrancy, much like the sports teams he covers. The impact of this work was evidenced by the opening set from the Elevation Collective, an all-star group of MIC’d Up students whose funky, fusion-heavy arrangements of “Caravan” and a handful of jazz and funk standards proved that the city’s musical future is in capable hands.
The main show began with Twin Princess, a project that leaned into a slow, moody indie-rock aesthetic. Their set was defined by reverb-soaked guitars, by way of Zoe Macdonald and her thinline Telecaster, and singer Pauli Mia’s smoky vocals that filled the space between ringing notes. A standout was “Allston,” a track from their 2023 Blood Moon LP that shifted the room’s energy into a higher gear. The set served as a perfect, atmospheric overture for the melodic power-pop that followed.
The Tisburys, Philadelphia’s favorite indie power-pop quintet, followed with a set that felt like a bittersweet milestone. (Lead singer Tyler Asay noted that the show would be the last to feature founding lead guitarist John Domenico, at least for a while.) The band offered an energetic set of tunes, most from 2025’s A Still Life Revisited, which local indie radio station WXPN described as one of the year’s homegrown breakouts. Some of the set’s highlights included “The Anniversaries,” the first single from Still Life, along with “Water in the Clouds,” where Domenico’s lead work shined brilliantly. In a move that further endeared the band to the fans, as if that were even possible, Asay got the whole room providing the backing “ooh-ooh-ooh” vocals to “A Still Life Without You,” one of the best tunes of the set, which also featured a spot-on cover of Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work,” led by headliner Eric Slick. The band’s perfect harmonies and “fan-first” energy reinforced why The Tisburys have become a cornerstone of the local scene, turning the room into a temporary chapel of pop-rock craft.
The headlining set from Lithuania was, in every sense, a homecoming. Though longtime Philadelphian Dominic Angelella, bassist for Lucy Dacus and past contributor to music by Kendrick Lamar, has relocated to Ireland, seeing him play the Johnny Brenda’s stage felt like rereading an old novel you forgot you loved. Alongside Eric Slick (Dr. Dog) and bassist Alex Luquet, the trio channeled the “jazz school rebellion” that birthed the (now-defunct) band at the (now-defunct) University of the Arts in 2005.
The set was a jagged, high-energy exchange of musical letters, including the punk-inflected “God in Two Persons,” perhaps a nod to The Residents, and the Slick-penned, dental surgery-inspired “Letters.” The most poignant turn came with the revival of material from DRGN King, Angelella’s long-since-abandoned project that bridged indie-rock and hip-hop fusion a decade ago. He admitted he never thought he’d play these songs again, but tracks like “Solo Harp,” which Slick pointed out is basically “Purple Rain,” did I mention that these guys are best friends and also hilarious? – retained all their youthful energy while benefiting from a decade of refined musicianship. The sense of community peaked during the encore when Hop Along’s Frances Quinlan joined for “Altamont Sunrise,” a song they and Angelella wrote 16 years ago but had never performed together. Quinlan sat in for a few tunes, and the room went silent enough to hear their and Angelella’s un-mic’d voices, a rare moment of acoustic intimacy. Closing with the anthemic “Hardcore Friends,” with guitarist Lucy Stone joining the band for the second time during the set, the night ended with a question, perhaps rhetorical: “When you close your eyes, do you feel like I do?” In a room full of friends, fans, and mentors, the answer was a resounding yes. The night proved that while an artist might move away, Philly’s “friend rock” ethos ensures they always have at least a place to crash when they come to visit. (And to be fair, Dom was the best man at Slick’s wedding, so it’s safe to assume he didn’t have to sleep on the floor.)
photo by Sarah Bruno