14 concerts to watch this week, including Metric, Tegan & Sara, Zoh Amba, Ceramic Animal, and more

Are you ready to tackle the last week of October? We sure are – and we’re bringing you a second round of concert picks later this week focusing specifically on Halloweekend events (the cover shows, the dance parties, all that). But right now there are plenty of other things to get excited about, from modern rock veterans Metric returning to the Fillmore tonight to Philly folk favorite Meg Baird at Johnny Brenda’s Saturday. Here are 14 concerts to see in the next seven days, all around Philadelphia; for tickets and more information, see the WXPN Concerts and Events page.
Sunday 10/23: Metric at the Fillmore
Canadian indie rock hit story Metric will head to the Fillmore on Sunday on tour for their new record Formentera. Metric’s stadium-worthy electronic sound is a good match for the cavernous Fillmore; arrive early for a seat close to the stage. // 8 p.m., $37, YY
Monday 24/10: Catfite at the Ukie Club
Catfite, the hardcore version of Philly ska band Catbite, makes its Ukie Club debut on Monday. Expect the high-energy songs you love from Catbite, but turned into raging punk bangers. This fun show is also a great opportunity to experience the Northern Liberties Ukie Club event venue under the supervision of local independent promoter 4333 Collective. // 7:30 p.m., $17, AA
Monday 24/10: Algernon Cadwallader at Union Transfer
Philly’s famous emo outfit Algernon Cadwallader played his first reunion show in his hometown last night during a sold-out Union Transfer, it was deliciously lopsided, and they’re back for round two tonight . Really this group had a strange trajectory; when he broke up nearly a decade ago, he went from basement gigs to “big shows” at The Church; now its headlining rooms are quadrupling that size across the country and selling out with ease. Their influence over the years they’ve been away has been undeniable – although perhaps people focus too much on their Cap’N Jazz leanings and not enough on their Pavement leanings – and you don’t want to miss their second night at UT, especially with Philly’s strong roster of openers which is Eight, Lizdelise and Big Nothing. // 6 p.m., $25, AA
Tuesday 10/25: Zoh Amba at Solar Myth
Freewheeling New York saxophonist and improviser Zoh Amba is stopping by Philadelphia this week for a show at Solar Myth, the South Broad Street venue once called Boot & Saddle. Now a base for the experimental tastemakers of Philly Ars Nova Workshop and their musical adventures at the intersections of jazz, punk and instrumental sound design, Amba is an ideal candidate to usher in the new/old space. She has terrific chops under the free jazz umbrella and a resume that this year alone has seen her albums released in collaboration with double bass player William Parker (O life, o light Vol. 1), Matt Hollenberg, guitarist from Philadelphia (Bhakthi), and revered multi-instrumentalist John Zorn (Oh, Sun). For Tuesday’s show, which ANW plans to sell out in advance, Amba will be joined by Irreversible Entanglements bassist Luke Stewart and Gang Gang Dance percussionist Ryan Sawyer. // 8 p.m., $20, 21+
Wednesday 26/10: Tegan & Sara at Union Transfer
Tegan & Sara had a great year. The twin sisters and decades-long musical partners just released their thoughtful, faith-based new record crybaby, and roll out episodes of their original High School TV show based on their own life story. They will be at Union Transfer on Wednesday to play the second of many shows in this tour cycle. // 7:00 p.m., $45, AA
Wednesday 10/26: Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn at the South Orange Performing Arts Center
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn are the banjo authorities of the 21st century. The pair, who first bonded through mutual admiration of each other’s playing, show a deep appreciation of the banjo for its roots in the southern United States and further afield in the Caribbean and South Africa. the West. Listen to Fleck’s 2021 album my bluegrass heart and Fleck & Washburn’s 2014 self-titled record in preparation for the show. // 7:30 p.m., $49 and up, AA
Wednesday 26/10: Madi Diaz at Johnny Brenda
After opening for pop sensation Harry Styles this summer, folk singer-songwriter Madi Diaz is coming to Johnny Brenda for her own headlining tour. Fans of Phoebe Bridgers and heartbreaking lyrical songwriters in general will revel in her music. For an easy introduction, check out the EP Same story, new feelings she dated this year with Waxahatchee, Courtney Marie Andrews and Angel Olsen. // 8 p.m., $18, 21+
Wednesday 26/10: Animal Ceramics at Underground Arts
In a recap of their Free at Noon gig earlier this year, XPN’s John Vettese described the Doylestown-based outfit as “one of modern rock’s most compelling live bands”. Fresh off their streak of opening dates for the Black Keys, Ceramic Animal are ready to deliver on that promise, bringing their genre-blended retro sound to Underground Arts. After all, if The National has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t go wrong with a bunch of brothers. // 9 p.m., $20, 21+
Thursday 10/27: Dan The Movie at Johnny Brenda
With an aesthetic steeped in grizzled Americana, punk rock and Criterion DVDs of existential terror, Philly’s Dan Bruskewicz cultivated a strong and evocative aesthetic in the twenties via his band TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb, culminating each year in a “Murdershow” celebration before Halloween. This year, the Murdershow returns to a new home at Johnny Brenda, and now features Bruskewicz’s new outfit, Dan the Movie, a COVID project that has become a new full-time activity. They’ve got a new single on the way and they’ll be sharing the stage on Thursday with York Street Hustle, as well as veteran Philadelphia singer Ali Wadsworth, who’s back from the Left Coast for a set of Guns N Roses covers. // 8 p.m., $15, 21+
Thursday 27/10: Saintseneca at Espace 1026
It’s hard to think of a better venue than local gallery and art collective Space 1026 to host Saintseneca’s nostalgic brand of indie folk. The Columbus, OH band just released a new single – season frightening “Wild Violent” – and viewers can expect an intimate crowd to collectively revel in the joys and sorrows of songwriting without cease referenced from Zac Little. // 7:30 p.m., $23, 18+
Thursday 27/10: Knifeplay at the Ukie Club
Philly combo Knifeplay just released their second album Drowning of animals, which mixes shoegaze and noise rock for an unpredictable and thrilling effect. With a knack for evoking vaguely menacing atmospheres, the band’s album release gig at the Ukie Club – joined by Yung Sham and Elvis Depressedly – is the perfect way to kick off Halloweekend well…or very, very badly. // 7:30 p.m., $17, AA
Friday 28/10: Welshly Arms at Tellus 360
Venture to Lancaster if you’re ready to have a blast with the emotional bangers of Welshly Arms. Those unfamiliar with the band might imagine something between the Lumineers and Imagine Dragons, but frontman Sam Getz described their new album, Lost words and bad decisions, as a return “to the raw rock-n-roll we had built the band on when we were playing together in the basement. // 8 p.m., $20, 21+
Friday 28/10: Sixteen Jackies at Ortlieb
If there’s one month in the year when Philadelphia’s ghoulish indie rockers Sixteen Jackies make more sense than the rest of the calendar year, it’s October. The band, which fuses ’60s retro rock with a horror B-movie camp aesthetic, will headline Losers Fest’s first night at Ortlieb’s on Friday. The event, celebrating local indie imprint Born Losers Records, also features Surf Rock Is Dead and Stray Fossa, with DJs from Suburban Living keeping the energy high between sets. // 8 p.m., $12, 21+
Saturday 10/29: Meg Baird at Johnny Brenda’s
Philadelphia-born singer-songwriter Meg Baird has spent a decades-long music career playing the beautiful, tragic, haunting and mysterious yet plaintive songs indebted to British folk of the 60s and 70s. Her new album, Winder, released this fall on Drag City Records, and she returns this Saturday to her neighborhood of Fishtown for a concert with her former neighbor Chris Forsyth at Johnny Brenda. // 7 p.m., $15, 21+