Music & Murals Walking Tour
Philadelphia
May 21, 2026
On a cool and wet Friday evening, about 30 music lovers met in the plaza at the Kimmel Center for the Music & Murals Walking Tour. Created as a collaboration between the Philadelphia Music Alliance and Mural Arts Philadelphia, the tour was a fun and informative dive into Philly music history as seen through its vibrant murals.
Inside the Kimmel Center, R&B singer Suzanne Christine led her band through a rousing medley of classic Philly anthems. The O'Jays' “I love Music” flowed effortlessly into McFadden and Whitehead's “Ain't No Stopping us Now," “Love Train," Lou Rawls’ “You'll Never Find," and Patti LaBelle’s “If Only you Knew." Although the repertoire was well known, Christine’s band put their own spin on each tune with some updated, neo-soul-inspired arrangements.
We started the tour on the Avenue of the Arts, where myself and tour guide Phylis Francis talked a bit about notable names like Nina Simone and Joey DeFrancesco and their contributions to Philly’s diverse musical history. Moving down Broad to South Street, we stopped at Legendary, the vibrant, colorful mural created by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh and Amber Arts Initiative as a tribute to The Roots. It's fitting that The Roots’ mural is located there, as South Street was a key component of the band’s story as Black Thought, Questlove and crew got their start busking out on the strip.
From there, we visited Dirty Franks, a bar adorned with David McShane's Famous Franks mural and Finally on 13th: Philadelphia Ballroom, Nile Livingston’s vibrant ode to Philly Ballroom culture and the many queer geniuses that it’s produced. We ended the tour by viewing Rhythm & Diversity, Shepard Failey’s massive ode to Philly DJ culture. While the tour didn’t last long (about an hour and a half) it was a lovely reminder that Philadelphia is not only a city of murals — we’re fortunate to live in a city that is full of music as well.
