Philadelphia is a city filled with beauty, talent, and a deep-rooted legacy of musical artistry and leadership.
Supporting the next generation of creatives and changemakers starts with giving them a platform to shine—and that’s exactly what the Philly Youth Music Fest sets out to do.
Following an immensely popular inaugural year, Philly Youth Music Fest is entering its second year with a new location equipped for an even bigger celebration. This year’s event will take place at the Dell Music Center and is free and open to the public.
Philly Youth Music Fest will feature open jams, workshops and networking opportunities with community organizations and vendors both before and after performances. Returning on Tuesday, July 15, the event itself will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and there will be a community celebration beginning at 10 a.m. that same day.
It takes a village
Among the many crucial parties who helped build this vision are Matthew Kerr, co-executive director of Beyond the Bars; Shameka Sawyer, founder and executive director of the 5 Shorts Project; Latisha Otuonye, co-founder of FamFrequency Productions; and Anthony Brown, founder of Always Be Real Original (ABRO).
Philly Youth Music Fest celebrates not only the artists, but the entire creative process, as exemplified by the involvement of the 5 Shorts Project, a local nonprofit that works to empower aspiring filmmakers in Philadelphia.
“Our young people study video production and filmmaking,” Sawyer explains. “So, part of our support was to record everyone’s performance so they will have a really nice copy of the performance at the site.”
Another is the inclusion of ABRO, which helps young people in production and essentially provides public relations for those who join the program. Through ABRO, Brown works with young dancers, hip-hop artists, and many other types of young entertainers, giving them hands-on mentorship.
The next generation of creatives
Among the many young leaders involved in this project are Miguel and Kahsaan, two young artists who also go by their respective artist names, ‘SZN’ and ‘TK the Hill.’ The two budding creatives discussed the work of Philly Youth Music Fest alongside Kerr, Sawyer, Otuonye, and Brown, showcasing what the Philly Youth Music Fest is all about.
“One of the biggest things with Philly Youth Music Fest is these two main components. Our young people are amazing in our city. We want this to be a citywide celebration of how incredibly talented our young people are, as well as just the awesome leaders they are,” Kerr told Metro. “There are so many awesome young people in our city, and we want there to be a city-wide celebration of [these people], and not just like, ‘Oh, look what our organizations do for our young people.” No, look at our awesome, young people in our communities doing beautiful things.”
To Kerr’s point, without even experiencing all that the Philly Youth Music Fest is set to deliver, it was evident what this opportunity brought out of these young leaders.
“It started off more as a hobby,” Miguel said of his early interest in music. “Just trying to vent in a certain way. Eventually, I wanted to try and put my music more out there, and it became more of a career for me.”
Kahsaan echoed a similar sentiment.
“As I started to do it more, as I started to post my music, it showed me that I can do anything that I can put my mind to. You can do anything creative, as long as you put your mind to it,” Kahsaan said.
Working with Beyond the Bars — a student-led, community-focused music and resource program committed to breaking the cycle of violence — Miguel and Kahsaan have been enabled to showcase their natural leadership abilities while experiencing opportunities for that ability to grow in a safe and conducive environment.
One of those abilities is peer-to-peer leadership, which is not placing oneself on a higher level but instead sitting beside them and guiding them. This is one of the most important lessons that Miguel has learned through working with Beyond the Bars.
“Sometimes there’s an age gap, and so let’s say someone who’s older might not understand how to communicate it in a way that a young person can understand,” Miguel said. “So, just being a young person and being able to, not even necessarily put yourself in a leadership position, but just being a friend and being able to guide somebody, [it goes] a long way in order to help them out.”
Power of music
As they prepare for the second year of Philly Youth Music Fest, Miguel and Kahsaan are thrilled to begin this year’s events, and they are certainly not the only ones.
“[We’re] excited for this festival,” FamFrequency’s Latisha Otuonye said. “Our students are excited, and even folks I know that aren’t affiliated with any of the programs, who are just young folk, are excited.”
For more information on Philly Youth Music Fest, visit phillyyouthmusicfest.com.
