Couples: Music and Performances
From Opera to Rock and Roll
Avant-garde to classical. Ballet to modern dance. Jazz to neo-soul. Poetry readings to Broadway musicals. Rockabilly to gospel. Philadelphia’s musical theaters and performing arts venues offer performances in every key, from artists and performers of every kind. Some of the world’s best-known artists got their start right here in Philadelphia including performers like Will Smith, Jill Scott, Pink, Eve, Boyz II Men, Marian Anderson and hometown resident Patti LaBelle.
It was in South Philadelphia that opera legend Mario Lanza learned how to sing in the 1920s and 1930s. Dick Clark’s American Bandstand came to life in Philadelphia in the 1950s, with the sounds of Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Bobby Rydell. And in the late 1960s and 1970s, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, credited for creating The Philly Sound, produced 175 gold and platinum albums for artists such as the O’Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, The Intruders and the Trammps.