SwanFest
at The Skyline Stage at The Mann Center in Philadelphia, PA
photos and words by Jenn Knauff

The first ever east coast SwanFest closed out Philadelphia’s The Mann Center’s Skyline Stage concert series on a very summer like October 1st. The festival opened with California’s Dwellings who played a mix of old and new songs from their recent release.

Next to take the stage was Body Thief, hailing from Maryland, who got the crowd dancing. Within Destruction took the stage next all the way from Slovenia and really got the crowd head banging! Stolas came on next with their deep guitar rifts and drum beats.

Rain City Drive brought the sing-along with them as they closed out their set with fan-favorite ‘Talk to a Friend’. SiM, all the way from Japan, played their first ever show in Philadelphia and captured the love of the crowd very quickly. Set It Off flew on stage next with lead singer Cody Carson sporting the home team Eagles jersey after their win! They set the energy high and even switched things up a bit with drummer Max Danziger coming out front to sing the bands song ‘Guilty Pleasure’.

Aside from the headliners, the next band to take the stage was one of the most anticipated. Saosin, featuring old vocalist Anthony Green, completely blew the Skyline Stage away with a setlist composed of fan favorites and from their EP - Translating The Name, which turns 20 this year. Periphery was the second to last band to take the stage and they did not disappoint.

SwanFest headliners and creators Dance Gavin Dance were the final band to take the stage. Vocalists Jon Mess and Tilian Pearson quickly commanded the crowd that had been waiting since noon to see the California rockers. They opened with their new single ‘The Ghost of Billy Royalton’, which was released in honor of late bassist Tim Feerick who sadly passed away in April of 2022 and continued the night by playing primarily from their recent release, Jackpot Juicer but threw in a few songs not currently played on tour.

With the skyline of Philadelphia in the distance, the first east coast SwanFest’s sold out crowd let Dance Gavin Dance transport them to a world where they could forget their worries and let the music take over.

dwellings

SWANFEST 2023

dwellings

body thIEf

within destruction

stolas

rain city drive

sim

set it off

saosin

periphery

dance gavin dance