Tuesday Nite Music Club
48 Record Bar
48 S 2nd St.
Philadelphia
June 16, 2026
As I walked into the upstairs of Sassafras and into 48 Record Bar for an event dubbed "Tuesday Nite Music Club," the already immaculate vibes hit me before I could get through the doorway. Air’s cinematic banger "Sexy Boy" was spinning from their classic album Moon Safari, while I was greeted by the host/dj for the evening, RHETLAW. I was one of the first guests to arrive on Tuesday night for a new series at 48 Record Bar featuring a month-long live music residency followed by a listening session for a different classic record each week. Before the show could even begin, I had already bought a record from one of the bins I was perusing while waiting for my friends to join me. Shortly after my purchase, more guests, along with the rest of my party started to file in. For my first round of drinks, I ordered the Toasted Ginger Highball mocktail, which turned out to be my favorite beverage of the night. The bartenders sounded like they were doing some R&D before the show started, working on new cocktails that I will most certainly be back to try based on how much I loved this first drink alone.
Now that I had my drink, the room was filled up, and it was time to start the show. The resident musician for June is Yesseh Ali, a Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist who has recently supported the Jonas Brothers on multiple tours. Ali’s set began with a loop pedal and a cajones, a box-shaped percussion instrument played by hitting your hands directly on it. As the drum sounds looped, Ali added more instruments into the build. Flute, saxophone, even a cowbell made an appearance as he single-handedly layered more and more into a rendition of John Coltrane’s "Afro Blue." One song into the set, I was blown away by the talent and timing it took to do live loops so well that one man could sound like a full ensemble.
After Ali finished up his version of Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues, he let the crowd know that his parents were in attendance and gave a little context of how his family has influenced his music taste and style. Growing up with seven siblings, he was exposed to a wide variety of genres that helped shape who he is as a musician today. His mother owned a plethora of tapes and vinyl as he was growing up, and the next song would be dedicated to her. As Ali began looping and layering, I tried to catch on to what song he was playing, getting closer to unraveling the mystery as each instrument was added, until the iconic saxophone of Sade’s Paradise became undeniable. This dedication was my favorite of the set, I think partly because earlier in the day my mom had sent me a video of us dancing at her wedding — so I was already thinking of her a lot. Plus, as a Black mom in the '90s, she loves Sade.
During the final song of Yesseh Ali’s set, something truly special happened. About halfway through his interpretation of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s masterpiece, You’re All I Need To Get By, a new instrument entered the loop cycle: the voices of the audience. A small group of women at the bar began vocalizing the classic chorus and were briefly joined by others throughout the bar. Before the set began, Ali stated that that everything in his set would be spontaneous and off the cuff; having an impromptu choir join him was the perfect way to end this session.
Now it was onto the second half of Tuesday Nite Music Club, a collective listening of the chosen album of the week, Everything Is Possible: The Best of Os Mutantes. Formed in the late 60s, Os Mutantes is a Brazilian Tropicália band with releases spanning over 50 years. Compiled and released by David Byrne, Everything is Possible mostly features songs from the band’s self-titled debut and their first few albums. When I first got word of this event, I only listened to the first track, "Ando Meio Desligado," and that was more than enough to get me hooked. I refrained from listening to any more as I wanted my first full album experience to be at the event. Most of the songs are in their native language of Portuguese, but I think my favorite track is the English-spoken "Baby" (1971). The breathy vocals of Rita Lee as she sings “It’s time to learn what I don’t know,” submerged the lounge in tranquility as I mimicked the lyrics (learning what I don’t know). While one hand was on the Mango Sticky Rice cocktail I ordered at the start of the record, the other was scrolling through the Os Mutantes Wikipedia page and saving albums to my digital library for later.
As the album wound down, RHETLAW and I chatted about the night and how music brings people together. That’s ultimately the goal of not only the event, but the bar itself. Yes, the drinks were amazing, but the music was the centerpiece. Finding a record from one of my favorite bands, discovering a new local talent, and listening to an acclaimed album for the first time all in one night was an enriching experience that I will most certainly be back to replicate.
Find out more about Tuesday Nite Music Club and 48 Record Bar here.
