We are all getting used to fun stuff happening every weekend here in West Philly, but here’s something to enjoy in the middle of the week and for a very reasonable price. Penn Museum (3260 South Street) presents a series of concerts this summer (through August 24) every Wednesday night from 5 to 8 p.m.

All performances take place outdoors, in the museum’s Warden Garden, so you can enjoy some fresh air after long hours at work. Refreshments can be purchased at the venue. Tickets are $5, which includes admission to the museum.

This week “Summer Nights” features Baris Kaya and his band, Barakka, who mix Turkish folk, Middle Eastern and rock music.
 

You have a chance to see two gems (as in “a person or thing considered to be outstandingly good or special in some respect”) of the West Philly music scene in an intimate setting Friday night. Musicians Joshua Marcus and Emily Bate are combining for Sweet Sound of Music at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave.) beginning at 8 p.m. The suggested donation for the show is $8 and sweet teas and simple infused syrups are on the house.

Here are Emily and Joshua’s backgrounds (from the Studio 34 website):

Joshua Marcus

Joshua Marcus lives in Philadelphia, PA and has produced nine recordings under different bands and monikers in the last nine years, including Fan of Friends. This spring Marcus will release his newest recording, Reverse the Charges, on Chicago’s Contraphonic and Philadelphia’s High Two record labels. Joshua is currently working on a collaborative project to produce a folk recording dealing with current U.S. social and environmental justice struggles.

Emily Bate

Emily Bate’s spent 10 years performing, recording and touring, and singing sweetly about complicated things. She’s released three full-lengths and an several EPs. She is one half of the drag cover cabaret band Gender Mountain, with Dave End, and plays with lots of other buddies in West Philly. On this special occasion, expect some ukulele shredding, fingerpicked electric guitar, and big singing.

Sometimes when a handful of musicians with similar tastes and passions find each other, magic happens. So it is with The Oscuro Quintet, a collection of musicians who have come together from diverse backgrounds to form what might be Philadelphia’s first tango ensemble. It probably won’t surprise you to know that the group has abundant West Philly connections – four out of five members live here.

Formed in 2006, the quintet includes accordionist Shinjoo Cho, pianist Thomas Lee, violinist June Bender, guitarist Alban Bailly and bassist Ben Blazer. Together they have played a number of performances in recent years while pursuing other things (Lee, for example, is a doctoral student in perceptual science at Penn and Bender studies at Temple).

Now the group is ready to release its first record and it needs a little help. They have decided to try to raise enough money online to cover the costs of mastering the recordings, designing the album and CD manufacturing. This is a rare chance to be a patron of a unique musical ensemble for as little as $5.

Go to Oscuro’s Kickstarter page to contribute. There are premiums as well. For example, a $25 donation gets you a reserved copy of the CD. Fifty bucks gets you a CD and a free tango lesson. There is a bit of urgency. They need to raise $5,000 by June 17. They are already about halfway there.

Here is their Kickstarter video.

Tune Up Philly, the unique after-school music program, concluded the school year yesterday with a performance at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School (917 S. 47th St.). The performance featured pieces by the full orchestra and choir as well as quartets and quintets. About 85 St. Francis de Sales students ranging from kindergartners to eighth graders, have taken part in the program, which takes students from beginning musicians to concert-ready over the course of the school year.

JUMP magazine did a great piece on the program last week. Read it here.

Unfortunately we had to leave the concert early and we missed the performance of the full orchestra. We have heard rave reviews though. Below is a slideshow of some of the performances early in the concert.

You will be hearing a lot more about this program in the coming year. Tune Up Philly will be at the Henry C. Lea School (4700 Locust St.) next year and, as you can see in the photos, a film crew was shooting yesterday’s concert.

Tune-Up Philly began as an after-school program of novice Saint Francis de Sales Catholic School student-musicians tentatively playing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” at the beginning of the school year. Hours and hours of practice and a dozen or so concerts later, those same musicians will tackle Beethoven and Rossini today at the year-end concert from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the school (4625 Springfield Ave.)

The program, which features 6 to 13-year-olds and is designed to build self-esteem and a passion for music, has garnered praise across the city throughout the school year. Its director, Curtis Institute of Music graduate Stanford Thompson, hopes to take the program to the Henry C. Lea School (4700 Locust St.) next fall.

Today’s concert, which is free, will feature the Tune Philly Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Choir, and String Orchestra.

Tonight starting at 8 p.m. at Danger! Danger!

We can’t vouch for the bands, but we can vouch for the Garden Court Eatery, whose sign inspired one of their names.