"Philly Loves You" Wears Its Heart On Its Sleeve

Cover photo by Greg Geiger, lineup graphic by @truely_blue_

By Emily Herbein

In typical DIY fashion, the Philly Holiday Album knocked out a second volume for Valentine’s Day with like… three weeks of prep time. Jon Pritchard and I did some serious planning through the end of January because we saw that Ortlieb’s was also running a winter fund drive for the venue, and it wasn’t something we could sit back and not try to help out. Ortlieb’s is one of our most favorite venues and I don’t know what I’d do if they didn’t survive this pandemic. The winter edition of the Philly Holiday Album benefited Philly’s Toys For Tots and Save Our Stages, but this time we knew proceeds had to stay closer to home. I feel like “Philly Loves You” is such an accurate representation of the heart that fills this city. I’m so thrilled to have been able to include new additions to the lineup like Secret American, Tioga, Honeytiger, and Larlene, as well as our big-name feature, Anthony Green. (!!!) (If you know me…….. enough said). This album also intentionally features as much of the Ortlieb’s staff as we could manage, and I think that makes this one extra special. Philly loves each other and Jon and I are both so happy to have been able to bring us all together like this again for a venue that none of us can live without.

Jon was also cool enough to share his thoughts with me on this second installment outside of our ongoing Google spreadsheet full of ideas for *future* album ideas: “It’s clear that projects like this are what this community needs right now. Venues like Ortlieb’s are the cornerstone of this scene and fostering the creative talents that bless our city. I want to thank everyone involved and those that have contributed their time, art, and love to make this happen. And Emily rocks, y’all.”

Just like last time, I spoke with a handful of our artists about their tracks and what inspired everyone’s favorite topic: loooooove. Otherwise — I’m psyched about what we have in store for later this year and the prospect of some level of normalcy. If you did stream “Philly Loves You,” we hope it felt like that. <<<3

Nik Greeley & The Operators

Nik Greeley & The Operators: “We're very happy to finally release this “Hold On Me.” This tune has been around in our catalog for a while, but has never been properly recorded. It's one of my favorite songs we've ever written, and I wrote it when I was very much in love, and feeling the butterflies of it all. I was also listening to a lot of classic soul and R&B music at that time, and artists like Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Wilson Pickett continue to be big inspirations to me. I absolutely love the guitar parts that Zach came up with, and the great horn arrangements Jason wrote. This song truly makes me happy, and still brings me back to that feeling when I was first writing it, and feeling the beautiful buzz of love.

I'm really happy to be releasing it first on this album and to be supporting Ortlieb's, a venue I've had the pleasure of playing and attending so many great shows throughout the years. I can still remember the old stage when it was like you were playing in a hallway, but even then the vibe was real, and you could feel the spirits and energy of the special musicians who had played there in the past, including all the amazing jazz greats and the famous Jazz Jam nights that used to go down back in the day. It is an essential part of our community's DNA, and we have to make sure places like Ortlieb's stay open, forever!” — Nik Greeley

Number One Lovers

Number One Lovers: “The song we're adding to the comp is called “Feel it All, “ off an EP of ours called Lonesome Light. We're excited to be featured with the rest of the great artists on this comp and especially happy to be helping Ortlieb's get through the rest of the pandemic. I've had some really great times at Ortlieb's over the years and it's been one of my favorite venues since I moved to Philly. It's such a great venue and really crucial to bands coming up in Philly.” — Cole Berggren

Liz Delise by Erica Maclean

Lizdalise: “‘Sweet’ started out as a love song for my mom and transformed into a love song for all of the womxn/non-cis men in our lives, and a celebration of the ferocity of this love. It's scary to admit to yourself how deeply you love someone — the stakes are impossibly high, but there's nothing sweeter than loving real big. We need to make more noise about non-romantic love!!!” — Liz de Lise

Cigarettes for Breakfast

Cigarettes for Breakfast: “‘Wait’ touches on the more intricate side of love. You never really know what you're going to get or where things will go. Love is complex. All we know is that you have to try.” — Matt Whiteford

The Lunar Year

The Lunar Year: “‘Mysterium’ is about reminiscing on the feeling of falling in love. There is a moment when you connect with someone so deeply that it makes you feel celestial. I think that is one of the most powerful human experiences and I wanted to convey that sentiment in the lyrics and arrangement. As the song evolves, there are some hints of sadness and longing. Love requires vulnerability which opens you to pain. It’s especially difficult if life doesn’t gift you the ability to be with a person you love. But even with that, the song feels triumphant. I don’t regret loving anyone because the experience of having known someone like that is so rare and beautiful.” — Katie Burke

House Plant

House Plant: “When you truly love someone, you should feel comfortable enough to let out what’s inside. Otherwise, it’ll build up and give you a tummy ache.” — Andrew Smith

Larlene

Larlene: “I like to tell big stories in as few words as possible. With ‘Chamomile,’ it’s the classic heartbreak of longing. The lovers are not together and they never will be. It lives in the wondering and the processing of a complex love. Wondering if they wonder too — probably knowing that they don’t. But hey, that’s life! “ — Kat Freeman