Vinyl Night at Starbolt Philly
1936 N Front St.
Philadelphia
March 20, 2026
Occasionally, I’ll find myself under the EL near Front Street en route to various adventures or on my way to complete mundane tasks like going to the bank or grabbing a tin of fresh hummus from Five Sisters market. That being said, I've walked by Starbolt Philly many times and had my eye caught by its red hot neon signage and the big bold marquee advertising live bands and a Friday night vinyl night. Last night, I braved the rainslicked streets of Frankford avenue to check it out. Inside, Starbolt is one of the nicer bars along the Frankford EL with low lights, exposed brick throughout the interior and a spacious live performance space toward the back of the building. As the DJ, Chris (Aka Cash Prize), set up at a long table in the middle of the front bar, I sat down, ordered a chicken sandwich and prepared for the journey.
Chris opened the set with a surprising choice, “Breakfast in Heaven” (Arp’s Worn Cassette Version), by Norwegian composer and DJ Hans-Peter Lindstrøm. The tune’s dreamy ambient intro reset the tone in the room before launching into a pounding four-on-the-floor drum beat. From there he played a downtempo/hip hop hybrid with deep sub bass and floating, spectral vocals that I wasn't familiar with. The transition from that tune to Sade’s “Sweetest Taboo” was the first delightful left-turn on the night. As the buttery pop-jazz anthem wafted over the room, I peeped that a few of the pool players were vibing to Sade. Having been in the room during countless DJ sets over the years, I've learned to not bring many assumptions and preconceived notions with me when I hear someone play (it’s more fun that way). To my surprise, Chris followed “Sweetest Taboo” with a hip-hop track, 2Pac's “When We Ride,” featuring Outlawz. The Paul Oakenfold mix of The Cure’s “Close to Me” was another dope surprise in the set, immediately followed by The Headhunters' jazz-funk epic “God Make Me Funky.” As “God Make Me Funky” includes the drum break that Oakenfold used on “Close to Me,” Chris nicely wove together two songs across genres that are connected by sampling.
As the night progressed, Chris pushed the tempo a bit with classics like Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls” and Mr. Fingers' lush Chicago House classic “Can You Feel It.” Overall, the set was strong, eclectic and colorful. Philadelphia has such a rich DJ culture, where you can go out on any given night and catch something unique and interesting. Shout out to Chris for rocking the spot and to Star Bolt for providing a space for DJs to play freely and carry the torch for one of our city’s grandest traditions.
