This week in Philadelphia music, there are a plethora of more than worthy bands playing hometown shows, as well as touring attractions such as Ben Folds, Modest Mouse, Chief Keef, Slowdive, Habib Koite and Trombone Shorty.

Let’s start with Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties, who will play Friday and Saturday at City Winery. Who is Aaron West? Is he actually a real person? No. He is the alter ego of Dan Campbell, lead singer of the Wonder Years, the Lansdale-born emo band who released their seventh album, The hum goes on forever, in 2022 and has two shows coming up at the Fillmore in December.

Campbell’s folk-rock side project Aaron West has had the prolific songwriter chronicle the trials and tribulations of a fictional protagonist—he stays in character throughout his concerts—over the course of three albums, starting with that of 2014. We are not.

These concerts will celebrate the 10th anniversary of this album, and will also build off of this year’s album. Instead of flowers. The 16 pieces from the Roaring Twenties will be pressed on stage at City Winery. Expect a loud party: Aaron West’s songs have a lot of lyrics and fans sing along with everyone.

The Anchor Rock Club in Atlantic City hosts two bills featuring Philadelphia indie bands this weekend. Friday’s bill is dominated by Gloss, the self-described “pop fusion girlies from Philadelphia” who formed while students at the University of the Arts in 2019.

Saturday’s headliners are The Out-Sect, the Philadelphia garage-rock band who played an eye-opening concert Philadelphia Music Festival set aperture for Pure mag at Johnny Brenda’s. Out-Sect will be joined on the bill by South Jersey’s Reckless Randy and Philly’s Party Nerves.

Bakithi Kumalo is from Philadelphia. The bassist, who played in Paul Simon’s group Graceland songs such as “You Can Call Me Al” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” grew up under apartheid in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa. Kumalo now lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and is a regular fixture on stages in the Philadelphia area. SATURDAY, the Fallser Club hosts Bakithi Kumalo’s Graceland Experience.

In the early 2000s, Bala Cynwyd-raised songwriter Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn released three stellar albums of soulful indie-folk with You think it’s like that, but it’s really like that (2000), Advisory Committee (2002), and Come on Miracle (2004). All three are newly available on vinyl, and in 2020, You think was reissued accompanied by a tribute disc featuring acts as Mount Eerie, Alison Crutchfield and Shamir.

Mirah, who now lives in Brooklyn, plays Ortlieb in Northern Liberties Sunday with the opening of Seán Barna.

There’s a three day emo festival to the Underground Arts, brought to you by Philly DIY promoters Breadbox Booking. This is the second Dilly Dally Fest and features 10 bands per day, starting Friday, with the Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir, Everything & Nothing, Who Put Bella in the Witch Elm?, Ted Williams and Vs Self.

Now let’s move on to the artists playing in Philadelphia this week who aren’t actually from Philadelphia.

Corey Glover, the lead singer of Living Color, whose 1988 song “Cult of Personality” is used as walk-up music by Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, plays at 118 North Thursday with the Soul Experience feat. Corey Glover. Opening for Philadelphia bluesman Greg Sover. Thursday, aArdmore Music Hall, Lady Lamb – formerly known as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper – celebrates the 10th anniversary of his first albumRipley Pinewhich was released as a five-LP box set titled Ferris wheel hair.

From Kalamazoo, Jason Singer brings his Michigander project to Philadelphia on Friday: first free at noon at the World Café, then at Foundry in Fillmore at night.

Grateful Dead-adjacent jam band Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – featuring Philly guitarist Tom Hamilton – is making headlines the Met Philly on Friday.

Troy Andrews, the New Orleans horn player known as Trombone Shorty, last seen around these parts at Roots Picnic in June, is playing in Atlantic City on Friday. He’s at the Music Box at the Borgata with his band, Orleans Avenue.

Also Friday, at World Cafe Live, Portland, Oregon, a fingerpicking guitar genius Haley Heynderickx performs to support her delicately haunting film new album, Seed of a seed.

With his “Paper Airplane Request Tour”, Ben Folds has a quality gadget. Write a song request on a piece of paper, send it flying toward the stage, and hope that the quick-on-his-feet pianist will play it. His concert at Penn Live Arts is Saturday at the Zellerbach Theater.

English shoegaze band Slowdive, who took a 22-year hiatus before returning with their 2017 self-titled album, are now touring their superb 2023 follow-up, Everything is alive. The group plays Franklin Music Hall Saturday.

Senegalese guitarist and griot Habib Koite plays City Winery Monday with kora player Lamine Cissokho and balafon player Aly Keita.

Chicago rapper Chief Keef makes headlines the Fillmore on Tuesday, on tour behind his 2024 Almost so 2a long-running follow-up to his 2013 debut mixtape, Almost yes.

Modest Mouse, the Pacific Northwest alt-rockers led by Isaac Brock, are another band touring in celebration of an album anniversary, in this case 2004’s. Good news for those who like bad news. The band plays at the Fillmore on Wednesday.

And here’s a concert announcement of note: New Jersey pop-punk band My Chemical Romance will stop at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly on August 15 for a tour during which they will perform their 2006 rock opera, The black parade, in its entirety. Alice Cooper opens. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at mychemicalromance.com.