Are you kidding? May is just getting started. So, buckle up! From music to dance, check out these fantastic upcoming low-cost or free neighborhood festivities around town, plus some other juicy gems in the event gift basket. 

Contemporary jazz with the right beat

May 27, 2023. Check out the Ikechi Onyenaka Quintet for a jazzy night of supreme saxophone neo-soul. The band’s namesake and rising 26-year-old musician is a local treasure -- a songwriter and recording artist from Upper Darby, Pa. Onyenaka has been recognized for his “emotionally-driven saxophone melodies, atmospheric piano chords, and immaculate bass lines.” Onyenaka debut work, ‘The City Dreams EP’, is inspirational. $5 fee (for Dining room seating & door). 9:30 p.m., Time, 1315 Sansom St., 215-985-4800 or https://withkoji.com/@IkechiOnyenaka.

Ximena Violante

The best of Afroindigenous music and dance 

Community of music

May 31, 2023. Our City, Your Orchestra is a superb program that connects the community in a digital and in-person event series featuring Philly organizations, schools, and businesses through storytelling and musical collaborations by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Its various video episodes spotlight the work of grassroots community treasures like the Johnson House Historic Site in Germantown, a key harbor along the Underground Railroad in the 1800s. It’s online all of the time. The program showcasing Philadelphia ensembles also offers live performances. The next in-person concert and festival (with bounce houses, games, concessions, and food trucks) will be on May 31 at Northeast High School, 1601 Cottman Ave., at 7 p.m. Free but registration is required. 215-893-1999 or philorch.org.

James Mtume ‘goes street’ in public tribute

World-class jazz artists have sprung up like beautiful daffodils from the rich roots of Philadelphia. It must be the water ice that Philadelphia’s drinking! One legend got his due posthumously in his hometown on May 12. South Philadelphia’s Grammy-winning singer-producer James Mtume, who worked with legends Miles Davis, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and Stephanie Mills, will get a street renamed after him in his old neighborhood. The late Mtume passed away in 2022 at age 76. He was the son of saxophonist Jimmy Heath. Mtume worked in the music industry, TV, radio, and films. He collaborated on the classics “The Closer I Get to You.” (Flack and Hathaway), and “Never Knew Love Like This Before” (Mills) -- and he enjoyed solo success with the top R&B hit, “Juicy Fruit “ in the 1980s. Mtume’s son, Faulu, led the efforts for the ceremonial street renaming. Check out the brand-new tribute street sign for Mtume on the 1500 block of Wharton Street in South Philadelphia, where he grew up. 

Be a hostess with the mostess

Make a world of difference as a volunteer as a “Citizen Diplomat.” It could lead to experiences that deepen your understanding of many countries and different cultures. This is how it works: Host a dinner in your residence or become a workplace host. Meet and mingle with interesting people worldwide through Citizen Diplomacy International, strengthening international relations and connecting people worldwide. Citizen Diplomacy International of Philadelphia, One Penn Center, 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. (Suite 1055), 215-561-4700, email: [email protected], or cdiphila.org.