For most events involving the Eagles — the Autism Challenge, the Team 62 fundraiser in Sea Isle, DeVonta Smith’s celebrity softball game — the Birds are the attraction. Not so the ninth Make the World Better Concert, the work of the Birds’ former Defensive End, now their Head of Football Development and Strategy, Connor Barwin. At this weekend’s benefit — really, Friday and Sunday — the stars are onstage, not on field.
NB: Eagles might be there enjoying the show, but the draws are headliners Lucy Dacus, Hop Along, Jay Som and Remi Wolf. But first, the story of the concert and who benefits.
Making the World Better
Connor Barwin was still a Bird when he’d ride his bike from Center City through South Philly to practice. When he did, he’d pass the well-worn Ralph Brooks Park, and think: This park oughta look better.
Being of sound body and civic mind, Barwin, who left the team a couple years before their first Super Bowl win, would go on to earn a degree from Wharton and settle in the area with a family of his own, decided to fix up the park. Twelve years later, his nonprofit, Make the World Better Foundation, has only gotten bigger and stronger, revitalizing Kensington’s Waterloo and Girard Estates’ Smith Playgrounds and Vare Rec Center in Greys Ferry, partnering with the City’s Rebuild program.
Meanwhile, Barwin’s a cool guy. He likes the music the cool kids like, especially indie rock, and soon after founding his Foundation, he started using his celeb access to stage concerts to benefit the cause. He called it: the Make the World Better Concert. The War on Drugs performed. So did Japanese Breakfast and Alex G, at Union Transfer and the Dell.
This year, Barwin and MTWBF’s ED Jesse Rendell are bringing cool live music to the public park across the street from the Eagles’ practice facility, making it all-ages, and expanding it to two not-so-late nights.
From $79 per concert. 1500 Pattison Avenue
Friday, July 25 after 5:30pm: Lucy Dacus, Hop Along and Jay Som play.
Lucy Dacus
Grab your tissues. The former Philly local serves up serious feels with her moody melodies. A three-time Grammy winner with iconic supergroup Boy Genius (RIP), Dacus is now back to doing her own thing. Expect romantic indie ballads with a dash of 90s girl band edge.
It’s giving: Dido.
Hop Along
In a world where indie-rock has been overtaken by synths, Hop Along dares to be different … by keeping it traditional. The female-fronted rock band has a little bit of punk influence and a whole lot of grunge. Who doesn’t love a healthy dose of cathartic screaming / singing? Expect infectious energy from the (very badass) Philly music legend Frances Quinlan.
It’s giving: Janis Joplin.
Jay Som
Hot off her new single Float from her upcoming album Belong, Jay Som is the indie, bedroom-pop artist of your 2018 dreams. She’s who you play in your headphones on your morning commute, headbanging and pretending that you’re in your own pensive music video.
It’s giving: Carly Rae Jepsen.
Sunday, July 27 at 5:30pm: Remi Wolf, Magdalena Bay and Annie DuRusso.
Remi Wolf
While the other musicians in this lineup are giving “going through a break up and just need to feel something,” Remi Wolf brings the dance party. Take funk music and give it a modern pop twist and you get Remi Wolf. Wolf exudes cool girl TikTok vibes, so it’s no wonder you see her constantly trending as a background track for aesthetic-y social media videos.
It’s giving: Erykah Badu + a synthesizer.
Make the World Better Concert details:
Friday through Sunday, FDR will be closed to vehicular traffic. The Southeast Asian Market is cancelled.
In between those days, on Saturday at 8:30am, Diplo the DJ will host a 5K along most of the Park’s loop to League Avenue, and then perform onsite at 10am. Tickets to spectate cost about $60. The fee to run starts around $80. (This is unrelated to the MKWB benefit.)
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