Willie Nile

Willie Nile plays The Loft at City Winery on Wednesday, October 21, with doors opening at 6 PM and the show starting at 7:30 PM. Nile is a Buffalo-born singer-songwriter who has spent years building a name in the New York scene, and he's coming to Philadelphia as the sole bill for the night.

If you're not familiar with his work, the press has spent a lot of time trying to pin him down. The New York Times called him one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in years, while Uncut went with "a one-man Clash" and "the unofficial poet laureate of New York City." That Uncut review also hailed his album Streets Of New York as a platter for the ages. Rolling Stone put The Innocent Ones on its list of the top ten best under-the-radar albums of 2011, and BBC Radio called it the rock 'n' roll album of the year. American Ride took home Best Rock Album of the Year at the Independent Music Awards, and his 2016 album World War Willie was named Album of the Year by Twangville Magazine.

Beyond the reviews, he's earned praise from a long list of names: Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Lou Reed, Lucinda Williams, Jim Jarmusch, and Little Steven. It's a particular kind of rock 'n' roll pedigree that puts him in conversation with the New York sound he's so often associated with.

The venue is The Loft at City Winery, located at 990 Filbert Street in the Fashion District near Rittenhouse Square. It's an intimate seated room with dinner service and award-winning wines, so you can eat and drink while you watch. Doors open at 6 PM, and the show starts at 7:30 PM.