Today, WHYY’s 3rd Annual Connections Festival lands at the River Stage at Penn’s Landing. The full-day free event boasts a litany of local musical talent including of the folky Americana stomp grooving Sean Hoots Trio. Hezekiah Jones, a.k.a. Raphael Cutrufello the ever-imaginative folk-baron gathers his ever-evolving ensemble of Joneses. Multi-instrumentalist Khari Mateen offers music that pulls from an array of genres. With an intermingling of classical, jazz, soul and hip hop creating a contagious vibrancy, developing a hybrid that isn’t forced; rather, smoothly woven together. They will be joined by Philly-bred singer/songwriter Jesse Ruben and headlined by pop folkster Ben Kweller and the legendary They Might Be Giants. Be sure to register for this excellent day and support WHYY – we love their programming! River Stage at Great Plaza, 201 S. Columbus Blvd., 3pm – 9:30pm, Free, All Ages – Michael Colavita

We feel like we’re back from summer break, but we’re not sad about it because there are tons of rad shows in Philly this fall, and we’ll be doing a bunch of ticket giveaways to get you into them. First up at the North Star Bar are legendary New Wavers Pere Ubu and local indie rockers (before anyway used the term) The Strapping Fieldhands. To enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, send us an email at thedelimagazinephiladelphia@gmail.com with the subject line “Who’s Your Pere?” Please also include your cell number in the body of the message (in case of an emergency). Good Luck! 

a.k.a. music and Philebrity host another exciting FREE First Friday show at their homebase this evening, and it will be a homecoming of sorts for Lantern, who are still touring in support of their thunderous riot of a new album, Rock N’ Roll Rorschach. So it will be a good opportunity to catch Zachary Devereux Fairbrother’s nefarious guitar hijinx before he packs up for North Carolina tomorrow. a.k.a. music, 27 N. 2nd St., 7:30pm, Free, All Ages – Bill McThrill

LANTERN – KING OF THE JUNGLE from Jacqueline Lachance 

Meek Mill just dropped another club banger with a seriously dope beat and (of course) many NSFW lyrics called "It’s Me (I Be On It)," which features verses from Nicki Minaj, Fabolous and French Montana. It’s off his upcoming mixtape Dreamchasers 3 that will be available September 29. Enjoy!

DRGN KING and Cold Fronts will be gearing up to hit the road together for a little over two weeks. The meshing of their sounds and combining of their forces makes perfect sense to me, and I’m sure that it will to their fans as well. There will be catchy hooks and rockin’ guitar riffs aplenty tonight at Johnny Brenda’s for their tour kickoff. Also joining in on the fun are the garage-punk soul stylings of The Shakes. Good times will be had by all this evening, especially by the ladies! Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

Grrrl power will definitely be in the house tonight at Union Transfer when The Julie Ruin, featuring Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna and Kathleen Wilcox, come to town. They’ll be hosted by Brooklyn transplants and now West Philly natives Swearin’, who took the blogosphere by storm last year with their self-titled LP. With punk ethos and loud, guitar-driven 90’s indie rock coursing through their veins, the local four-piece will be getting warmed up for their big European tour next month. Also joining this evening’s bill are Plastic Hearts and Untamed, two bands that are made up of teens who found each this past August during Girls Rock Philly’s Summer Rock Camp. I expect to see plenty of rad Philly ladies bonding together and supportively cheering on all the acts! Guys, feel free to make some noise too. Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., 8pm, $15, All Ages – Alexis V. 

Our Griffins celebrate the release of their first full-length album, Michael Boyd, tonight at The Fire. What began as the musical vehicle of the youthful multi-instrumentalist DJ Brown has blossomed into a full band with the addition of Travis Hobbie, Luming Hao and Alex Luquet. While the self-released LP enlists Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick on drums, John Kimock now mans the kit. Brown’s penetrating pensive lyrics are balanced with a somewhat cosmic yet smooth instrumentation. The results are dynamic. His vocals are delicate, but display an authoritative strength breathing life into his words. The music is well thought out – energetic enough to provide momentum and depth, but precise enough to not distract. They will be joined by difficult to pin down abruptly aggressive Mumblr as well as Joe Montone-fronted folk indie rockers Heat Thunder, who also includes Luming Hao of Our Griffins and William Chamuris of Commonwealth Choir. Alt-folk duo Maitland rounds out an enjoyable evening of music. The Fire 412 W. Girard Ave., $7, 9pm, 21+ – Michael Colavita

Below is the first taste of a collaborative concept LP from Detroit rapper Guilty Simpson and Philly’s own Small Professor called "On The Run" featuring turntable shredder DJ Revolution. It’s off their forthcoming album Highway Robbery, which will be released on September 24 via Coalmine Records. Special thanks to Okayplayer for bringing it to our attention.

The Great Unknown possesses an understated beauty. After being together over half a decade with four EPs and two full-length albums under their belts, the group continues to be one of the most well-respected acts in the local folk/Americana music community, helping to carry on its rich tradition. Tonight they’ll be opening for Dead Oceans’ Night Beds, a.k.a. Winston Yellen, once again at Johnny Brenda’s. Though The Great Unknown was already a band before the Nashville artist even started singer, it’s easy to hear why the blogosphere has so quickly embraced Yellen’s heartfelt, angelic voice. I think that JB’s upstairs will be turning into an intimate listening room this evening. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

As if Labor Day weekend didn’t already signal the end of summer, Cough Cool, a.k.a. Dan Svizeny, just droped a new track called "Good Nothings" that also sounds like the end of a summer romance. The tune is a B-side to the collection of songs that he just released on the LP 29 via Bathetic. Please feel free to lament with us.