Written by Angel Park
There’s something special about Philadelphia’s music venues. They’re not just places to see local and touring bands – they’re a vital part of the city’s musical fabric. Philly music venues have a unique character that comes from their historic buildings, intimate settings, and passionate audiences. As passionate supporters of all things local music, our staff at ThatMag will be shining the spotlight on some local venues that have become staples of Philadelphia’s thriving music community.
Since opening its doors in 2004, Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live has become a staple in Philadelphia’s music scene 2004. The intimate venue is known for its incredible acoustics and diverse lineup of shows with an emphasis on supporting the city’s local artists and musicians.
Tori Powers is the Director of Communications at World Cafe Live and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of communication for the organization, including press relations, marketing, and social media. In her role, she works to ensure that World Cafe Live remains at the forefront of the music world. Our staff at ThatMag had the chance to sit down with Mrs. Powers at the venue to learn more about the Cafe’s history, its impact on Philadelphia’s local music community, and what the future holds for this acclaimed venue.
The initial vision for World Cafe Live, according to Powers, can be credited back to the venue’s founder and president, Hal Real, who first opened the venue back in the early 2000s after years of careful planning and development.
“The space was opened to sort of a combined multi-use building between WXPN the radio station and World Cafe Live. But we share the building and we do a lot of stuff together,” Powers explained.
The ultimate goal of World Cafe Live, according to Powers, was to curate a space that was open to everyone and able to showcase different kinds of music that may not have been coming to Philly at the time.
Tori stated, “The vision back then was sort of just to create a space that was like a space for the community really where we could have concerts, events, food, and drink and sort of having like an elevated concert experience that you might not get at other venues.”
This approach, along with their commitment to being an independent venue, was part of what helped contribute to their success in the Philadelphia Music Community.
“We’re an independent venue. and this just allows us to do things a little bit differently than some venues that might be corporately owned. We can curate our programming and try stuff out. We have artists at all stages of their careers, so there’s no limit to what we can do here. And another big piece kind of sets us apart from many of the other venues and has contributed to our staying power here is that we’re also a nonprofit.” 
Before the pandemic, World Cafe live finalized a merger with their nonprofit partner in residence titled “Live Connections,” which opened more doors for the venue to contribute back to the community through music education programs.
“At that time, our education series was born outta the recession and when a lot of funding for music action was cut from schools.” Powers said, “So the idea there was to supplement the music and arts education that was lacking in Philly public schools and give kids opportunities that they might not be getting in school for creativity and self-expression and learning about music and arts. We’re able to bring them into a professional venue setting, get them out of the schools, bring them here and give them new experiences and let them come and experience a concert venue that they may never have been to before.”
Adding to this education series for this summer is World Cafe Live’s specially curated pilot series called the “Puerta Aierta Summer Music Series,” which is focused on Latin Music, Culture, and Arts.
“It’s a cool program that utilizes the full 360 of the venue. We have concerts at night for people with food and music and dancing, and then we also have the education component. So it’s nice to be able to offer both of those and reach other communities in Philly and showcase music that isn’t always as highlighted.”
In addition to Puerta Aierta, World Cafe Live is expected to have a stacked summer calendar filled with various shows.
Learn more about World Cafe Live’s Puerta Abierta Summer Music Series
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