The ninth annual Philly Music Fest roared to life on Monday with a highly anticipated underplay by homegrown legends Dr. Dog at Ardmore Music Hall. On the heels of last month’s set at Citizens Bank Park opening for The Lumineers, the band’s choice to play an intimate 600-cap room underscored its commitment to the local scene and the festival’s nonprofit mission to support music education. This night, a “nine-year dream come true” for PMF founder Greg Seltzer, was a celebration of Philadelphia’s communal musical spirit.
Local fixture and prolific YouTuber Pat Finnerty set the night off right with a seemingly improvised set of music and comedy with his Full Band lineup. The man behind the viral What Makes This Song Stink series delivered a set of sincerely delivered covers of both good and bad songs, with nichey, Philly-centric humor peppered throughout. The set was a communal affair, blending singalongs like the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” and Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing”, which Finnerty carefully re-worded in all the right places, with gags like offering fresh $20 bills to audience members for recognizing teases of “bad songs” by Everclear and 3 Doors Down. The connective tissue of the evening was proudly displayed when Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick sang a (different) Everclear tune and helped close the set with Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”, with a further assist from Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken.
Pat Finnerty With Eric Slick & Scott McMicken – “Closer” (Nine Inch Nails) – 10/13/25
[Video: pwm112]
After a short break, Dr. Dog took the stage and immediately established a deep, powerful groove that highlighted the group’s rightly renowned synergy. Now veterans in their third decade, the band employed the same stage set as they did a month prior at their stadium show with The Lumineers, including double drum sets and a new trio of background singers providing multi-layered vocal richness developed for their new self-titled album. The music achieved a conscious, compelling, and seemingly impossible balance of tight and loose à la James Brown or Talking Heads: Slick’s snare always landed exactly on the two or four, and he used the rest of the kit to dance around the beat.
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The two-hour set traversed a rich landscape, emphasizing Dr. Dog’s evolution into layered indie psych-rock. Highlights included “Mirror, Mirror” and a unique performance of “Warrior Man”, which Toby Leaman informed the crowd was a deep cut requested by Scott McMicken’s brother, one of many familial nods that spoke to the intimate nature of the evening. The sound was thick and complex, featuring up to eight-part vocal harmonies and deep bass vibes. The set was marked by moments of genuine musical exploration, where the band collectively pushed into extended jams, achieving peak joy during the closing segments. McMicken dedicated another song to his nephew Charlie, reinforcing the sense that the show was a family affair as much as a concert. The encore provided a perfect, locally specific climax. Two of the band’s backup singers donned acoustic guitars to open with “Fat Dog”, after which McMicken began tossing extra green room Wawa hoagies into the crowd before closing with “Oh Nellie”, with a sustained final vocal harmony to end the night.
Photo: Lisa Schaffer
Lyrics from a different Dr. Dog tune, the viral hit “Where’d All The Time Go?”, capture the sentiment for longtime fans of the band—it’s hard to believe they’ve been at it for so long and yet remain so vital. (And it must have been at least a decade since they played such a small room at a local show.) The entire event served as a testament to the fact that Dr. Dog, though now capable of selling out much larger venues, remains rooted in the spirit of their community. The show’s high-energy blend of deep cuts, collaborative covers, and unique local humor affirmed the vibrancy of the Philly scene and the worthiness of Philly Music Fest’s mission.
Dr. Dog – “Fat Dog” – 10/13/25
[Video: pwm112]
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Setlist: Dr. Dog | Ardmore Music Hall | Ardmore, PA | 10/13/25
Set: “The ABC’s” > “Take Me Into Town” > “White Dove” (Live debut) > “Talk is Cheap” > “Mirror, Mirror” > “The Pretender” > “Coming Out of the Darkness” > “Fine White Lies” > “Exit for Sale” (Live debut) > “Broken Heart” > “Heart Killer” > “Under the Wheels” > “Tell Your Friends” > “From” > “Can She Dance” > “The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer” > “Warrior Man” > “Heavy Light” > “These Days” > “My Friend” > “Abandoned Mansion”
Encore: “Fat Dog” (Wawa Interlude) > “Nellie”