The Philly Pops will move its upcoming February concerts to The Met Philadelphia after being evicted from the Kimmel Cultural Campus in January for failure to pay its debts. But the future of the financially-strapped orchestra remains uncertain as it searches for venues to hold the remainder of its shows.
Three performances of "Get Up, Stand Up: The Encyclopedia of Soul" were scheduled at Verizon Hall from Feb. 17-19 before the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center cut off its relationship with the Pops. Two of the concerts have been rebooked to take place at The Met on Saturday, Feb. 18.
- MORE CULTURE
- Lizzy McAlpine performs title song for upcoming AppleTV+ series 'Dear Edward'
- Philly offering $1,000 bonuses to recruit more summer lifeguards
- Beyoncé's Renaissance tour will stop in Philadelphia this summer
Anyone who purchased tickets to the originally-scheduled shows will have their tickets honored, and additional tickets will go on sale Friday. People who purchased tickets for the Feb. 17 show at Verizon Hall can attend the 8 p.m. show at The Met on Feb. 18; those with tickets for the Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 shows at Verizon Hall can attend the 3 p.m. show at the Met.
The Pops had four other shows scheduled in March, April, May and June, but the orchestra has not yet announced an alternative venue for any of them.
"Get Up, Stand Up: The Encyclopedia Of Soul" includes R&B favorites like "Heard It Through The Grapevine," "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Let's Get It On." It features Emmy Award-winning conductor Rickey Minor and "Hamilton" star Joshua Henry.
"We are very excited about this opportunity to continue our work as the principal orchestra of The Met Philadelphia, premiering 'Get Up, Stand Up' with Joshua Henry and Rickey Minor in our city: a city long infused with its own Philly Sound," the Philly Pops said in a statement Wednesday. "We are continuing to make our scheduled 2022-23 performances the best they can possibly be for our patrons and our magnificent musicians and we will continue to update as we have more information regarding the remainder of our concerts."
The Met is familiar territory for the Philly Pops. The ensemble served as the principal orchestra at the North Philadelphia venue for nearly a year before the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the city's arts and culture sectors.
The Pops performed several shows at The Met in 2019, including "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and a Freddie Mercury tribute.
Though the Philly Pops initially decided to shut down operations at the end of its 2022-2023 season in July, overwhelming support for its Christmas programming in December allowed the orchestra to reassess that plan, according to Frank Giordano, president of the Pops.
The orchestra has since turned to fundraising, launching its #SaveThePOPS campaign in an effort to raise the $2 million needed to continue operations
The Philly Pops union members reached a new contract agreement in December. It does not expire until Aug. 31, 2024, accounting for the possibility of continued operations after July.