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BSR spring intern Chhaya Nayyar, editor-in-chief Alaina Johns, and social-media manager Maya Arthur at the opening of the 2025 Philadelphia Lantern Festival.

These exclusive tips for you, our subscribers, let you know where our team is heading on the Philly scene this month. There are three sections: FIND US, Neil’s Nod of the Month, and Recommended Reading. If you’d like to step up and support our work, a donation of $10 or more helps us pay our writers. Friends of BSR and Local Media Champions receive additional updates with insights on our coverage and exclusive recommendations from our team. Friends of BSR sign up for an automatic monthly donation of $5 (or make a one-time donation of $60). We think $5 a month is a pretty sweet price to keep Philly arts journalism alive! Local Media Champions support us with an automatic donation of $20/month.

FIND THE EDITORS

July 16: Intro to review-writing

July 17: BAD REVIEWS: Why we need them and how to write them

We're bringing back our popular review-writing webinars in July. These 90-minute Zoom sessions, featuring Q&As with the editors and BSR critics, will help you understand the reviewer's work and build a strong and ethical criticism toolbox. Designed for writers as well as anyone who is interested in the critic's work. All are welcome! Get all the details and grab your seat at the links above.

FIND BSR...in Northwest Philadelphia

This summer, BSR is excited to announce the beginning of a new partnership with our neighbors to the northwest, The Chestnut Hill Local. The Local, publishing since 1958, is an independent weekly newspaper available online and on paper. At BSR, we have been wanting to increase our coverage of arts happenings in Philly's vibrant Northwest corner, and teaming with the Local (which serves Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Germantown, and other Northwest neighborhoods alongside the nearby suburbs of Eastern Montgomery County) is a great way to do it.

To kick off our partnership, we're collaborating on some stories this summer that will run in both BSR and the Local. Look out for theater and gallery reviews, as well as reporting on an arts program for Germantown youth and an interesting local architectural project. Nowadays, working smarter for media outlets often means working together, and we're excited for the possibilities of hyperlocal media in Philly. Stay tuned for more!

FIND US!

FIND NEIL

Phish

WHEN: July 15-16, 2025
WHERE: The Mann Center
WHY: This quartet originally from Vermont predates and influenced most so-called "jam bands." They weave together progressive rock, jazz, bluegrass, and ambient elements more than most non-fans give them credit for--and have done so since the early 80s to sold-out crowds. I've attended nearly every Mann show of theirs over the past dozen years, among others around the northeast, and find the Mann's pavilion/lawn combo a top-notch setting for summer tour. Every concert is completely different and unpredictable. Will the drummer play a vacuum cleaner solo? Will they play the same song five times over the course of three hours? I sure hope so, on both counts. (Confidential to the phans: I'd like a 2001fest.)

An alligator joins the nighttime menagerie at the 2025 Lantern Festival. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

FIND ALAINA

The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival

WHEN: Open now through August 31

WHERE: Franklin Square (6th & Race)

WHY: This year's Lantern Fest, marking the Year of the Snake, features some really eye-popping displays, including an impossibly huge, vibrant, detailed ocean reef and encounters with whimsical lantern animals including peacocks, frogs, tapirs, bears, and pangolins, plus a giant walk-through octopus. This year boasts more interactive displays, and when members of the BSR team attended on opening night, previews of the nightly acrobatic stage performances (included with admission) impressed us. Single tickets to the fest may be pricey for some families ($16-$29), though there is a new "Festival Pass" ($80 for adults, $45 for kids) that allows for unlimited visits all summer. During the day, anyone can check out the displays for free.

The 2025 PlayPenn New Play Development Conference

WHEN: July 5-20, 2025

WHERE: Multiple venues around the city including The Drake

WHY: I have enjoyed PlayPenn readings in the past, and it's exciting to see what local playwrights are up to, especially when PlayPenn alums often go on to notable careers. I am particularly interested in offerings from local Asian playwrights, who are under-represented on our stages. Don't miss our story on this year's conference, and get your free tickets to the readings that grab you.

Shakespeare in Clark Park

WHEN: July 23-27, 2025

WHERE: "The Bowl" at Clark Park (1101 S. 45th Street)

WHY: SCP is a tradition for me. It's always a little magical to recline in Clark Park's bowl as the summer dusk becomes night, bats replace the birds in the sky, and the stage grows more luminous with each passing minute. In the past, I have been particularly impressed with the sound design of SCP shows, which delivers crisp dialogue and music you can hear from anywhere in the audience -- a real feat for outdoor Shakespeare. This is SCP's 20th anniversary season, and the show is A Bottom's Dream, billed as an edgy new musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream that amplifies trans and nonbinary voices. As always, it's free to attend. Bring a blanket or chair and your picnic of choice, whether that's a cheese plate, hoagies, or a pizza from Clarkville (I recommend the Caprese Pie).

The audience at Shakespeare in Clark Park's 2024 show. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

Neil's nod of the month

We have an exciting package of essays coming up next week, to celebrate Independence Day. What's the deal with patriotism around here these days, folks? Our writers get into it, including takes on book bans and parenting in this American moment. In particular, I'm excited to read a new piece by An Nichols about jury duty as a necessary civic action today. I ran into An at a BSR event a few months ago. She was vibrating with reactions to jury duty and we had a lovely conversation about her experience and the process as a whole. We can't wait to share these stories with you, starting next Monday.

I didn't get to read Anndee Hochman's review of Milkweed and Honey Cake: A Memoir in Ritual Moments properly when it hit our site during Book Week at the start of June, but I feel called to it this week as I process seasonal changes big and small, family movement big and small, and an upcoming Independence Day.