With a sincere, inviting vulnerability is orchestrated in detailed, personal storytelling/songwriting, Free Cake For Every Creature exhibits the ability to create memorable, sonic scenes with concisely crafted lyricism. Those softly delivered observations open a door, showcasing intimate, thoughtfully relatable perspectives. Nuanced, instrumental layers illuminate the surrounding circumstances, offering well-rounded, fly-on-the-wall points of view, while temporarily transporting you in the process. However, that door is sadly closing as Katie Bennett and company play their final show this evening at Everybody Hits. They’ll be joined by the exuberantly cathartic powerpop of Remember Sports as well as the harmony-laced songwriting of Indiana’s Amy O. – Michael Colavita

Other places to hit now that summer is upon us…

Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Free Cake For Every Creature (Last Show), Remember Sports, SAT Grayling

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI The Beat Street Jam with Killiam Shakespeare, Dayne Jordan

Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) SAT Strange Parts

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI The Out-Sect/Riot Nerd, SAT Necrosexual/Riot Nerd, SUN PLOT, Witch Bomb, Sun God

PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12^th St.) FRI Thantophobe (EP Release), Punk Hands, Kelsey Cork & the Swigs, SAT Arch Of Love

Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI The House Key Showcase: Ill Fated Natives, Kilamanzego

Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden St,) FRI Heavy Temple, Solace

The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI The Big Mess Cabaret, SAT The Big Mess Cabaret 

The Foundry (1000 Frankford Ave.) FRI  DJ Dame Luz, Nash: Holy Trinity: Bey, RiRi & Nicki Party

Franklin Music Hall (421 N. 7^th St.) FRI Wobbleland Philadelphia: Bandlez, SAT Wobbleland Philadelphia: Bandlez

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) Stars Apart (Record Release)/(Downstairs) 90’s Kinda Love: The Soundtracks, SAT (Upstairs) Stargazer Lily, The Low Road/The Low Road, Joey Sweeney

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Mighty Joe Castro and the Gravamen, Hannah Taylor and the Rekardo Lee Trio, Three Chord Money, SAT Infinity (Album Release), Solvo, Cardinal Sin, SUN Girl Science

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) SUN Jordan Ramirez & The Tribe

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3^rd St.) FRI Rosu Lup, Hemming, SAT Wax Wav, Wallace

The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) FRI The Great Enough, Electric Church

Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI Rich Medina

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2^nd St.) FRI Conversations, SAT Eat Your Beats, Newpy Hundo, SUN Rob Clancy, Mat Burke

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SUN Rusty Cadillac 

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9^th St.) FRI Elissa Janelle Velveteen

The Tusk (430 South St.) SAT God Root/Manikineter, Booklegger (Double Tape Release), Hallucinogenic Bulb, Kahlil Ali

Century (1350 S. 29^th St.) SAT Black Friday Death Count, Howling Fantods, Human Shield, Nervous Wish

The Mann Center (5201 Parkside Ave.) SAT Roots Picnic

Morgan’s Pier (221 N. Columbus Blvd.) FRI DJ Beatstreet, SUN New Pony/DJ Pfef 

Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI DJ Craig Dash, SAT The Rainbow Connection: A Tribute To The Muppets/DJ Ian St Laurent 

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Bravo, Leader, Jesse Gimbel, SAT Dear Forbidden, Seeking Spades, Perlin Noise

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Splintered Sunlight, SAT Splintered Sunlight, SUN Transistor Trio

The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18^th St.) SAT Science Club, Brick Nova, Pinwheel, Readership

The Mothership (602 S. 52nd St.) FRI Hermit High Priestess

Creep Records (1050 N. Hancock St.) FRI Courier Club

Warehouse on Watts (923 N. Watts St.) FRI BeeTee Beats, Ily, SAT Camp Phuckit Presents: Prom Night-Enchantment Under The Sea: IANN, DJ Nysus, Johnny Showcase, DEL, Wassup Gina 

Lizard Lounge (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Sandboxing, Camp Candle , Double Suede

Cousin Danny’s (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SUN Eat

The Meadow (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SUN Naff, Mage Hand, Moonwatcher

Indie-pop darling Katie Bennett keeps fans spellbound with Free Cake For Every Creature's newest LP The Bluest Star. Just as its namesake would suggest, Bennett’s follow-up to 2016’s Talking Quietly of Anything with You is evocative, luminous, and unshakably searing.

With the lo-fi warmth of "Riding into the Sunset in a Busted Car," her fourth LP’s opening track is a raw confession about being young and the desire to belong. Amplified by urgent chords and earnest vocals, The Bluest Star unfolds with a rare fearlessness, making each lyric feel like a testimony to the ups and downs of self-discovery and growing up. Lines like "not everyone's got a sleeve where they can wear their heart" and "use your pen to find the pieces in the dark" make "Riding into the Sunset in a Busted Car" more of a map than a story, giving listeners a refreshingly frank perspective on how to emotionally cope with the uncertainty of being alive.

The steady swell and backbeat of "Around You" feels like a melodic successor to the frank poetics of Rilo Kiley's "Science vs. Romance" and the gritty sincerity of Colleen Green's earliest cuts. A testament to friendship and adolescent adventures, the album’s second offering is nostalgic in a rare and fervent way. Whether the relationship that inspired this song was platonic or romantic, its formative impact on Bennett is obvious from beginning to end. Deeply personal yet universal, “Around You” is an evocative homage to intimacy and the transformative journey of coming of age, while "Whole World Girl" is a self-reflective love song that focuses more on the aftermath of romance rather than its beginning, a narrative choice that makes an already evocative narrative even more arresting. Similarly, "Took a Walk" is a bare-bones yet atmospheric ballad about the past and self-definition, in the wake of a splintered relationship. Here, her lyricism is pragmatic, heart-wrenching, and undeniably relatable.

From its inception, "Sideline Skyline" is unrushed and deliberate, which forces Bennett's audience to listen closer, to savor each second. When she professes, "I'm nobody's mother & I don't have to hold it all together," the track becomes an anthem of defiance and autonomy. "Sunday Afternoon" is succinct yet moving due to Bennett's apt use of subtle repetition and instrumentation, and "In Your Car" unfolds in a similar fashion, and steadily blooms into a brief yet cinematic song. Equally vivid, the recording is a ready-made favorite for fans of Cat Power circa Moon Pix or Julien Baker’s Sprained Ankle. “In Your Car” is an immersive testament to how even the most ordinary moments can shape a person.

"Tom or Mike or Pat or" and "Hometown Hero" both feel like pages torn from the diary of a teenage realist, while “Christina’s World” and “Goodbye, Unsilently” are tranquil folk melodies in their own rite. Each note amplifies each lyric, making both tracks equally gripping meditations on self-worth and identity – two themes that permeate throughout the album’s end.

Much like its beginning, the record’s conclusion feels deeply personal and honest, which makes the raspy snare of “Be Home Soon” and the stripped-down melody of “Night Music” memorable, even after the album is over. Arresting at every second, The Bluest Star is a brave and impassioned portrait of desire and the power of vulnerability. – Dianca London

Free Cake For Every Creature's new LP The Bluest Star is out now via Double Double Whammy. Singer-songwriter Katie Bennett returned to the comfort of her home, after her first proper studio release, Talking Quietly Of Anything With You, allowing the latest batch of songs and recordings to organically evolve. With touring bandmates Heeyoon Won and Francis Lyons, along with a array of local music pals, Bennett beautifully captures her thoughts and experiences, as she learns to work through the mundane, day-to-day hustle of adulthood, while still remaining self-motivated and inspired. You can take in all these feels at Free Cake For Every Creature's record release show tonight at Everybody Hits, with Brooklyn's Told Slant, Friendship, and Slow Ref.

Katie Bennett, a.k.a. Free Cake For Every Creature, just shared “Around You,” the first single off her forthcoming LP The Bluest Star, due out August 3 via Double Double Whammy. The song opens at a jogging pace, showcasing exertion but with a relaxed backdrop. That heartwarming earnestness reflects on the joyous, fluttery feelings of an unforgettable crush/love. You can share in the feels with Bennett & friends at Everybody Hits on Friday, August 3, where they'll be supported by Told Slant and Slow Ref.

Passionately personal songs, which complimentarily cross between the traditional country/folk realms, exploring modern ambiance, Shock Out Of Season (Orindal Records), the new album from Friendship, delves into personal depths. Dan Wiggins' vocals subtlety drip with emotion, as the scenes presented, seem stitched into one’s consciousness, presenting an image and then digging into its layers of meaning. The reverberating tightly woven instrumental fabric allows those words space to breath as one collects their thoughts. Tonight, Friendship celebrates its arrival at Everybody Hits, where Power Animal will also be commemorating a fresh, new album, Good Wind Pt. 1 (Human Kindness Overflowing), which inhabits a close, lyrical proximity that simultaneously pedals toward the future. Engaging tones and tempo line the periphery, while sensitive, soothing, stacked vocals unite in illuminating harmony. The co-headliners will also be joined by the invigorating storytelling of Free Cake For Every Creature, setting this billing up as one whose candle burns from beginning to end. (Friendship Photo by Michelle Goodwin) – Michael Colavita

More places to hang this weekend…

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT Church Girls, The Vernes, Grayling, SUN Rosali

Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) SAT Summer Fiction

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Bardo Pond/DJ Deejay/Brian Creswell, SarahCuda, DecoSoul, SAT Hurry/Entellekt, A.Rob, Corey Lee/Matthew Law,DJ Hvnlee, SUN Shawn Kilroy, Lightninging

PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12^th St.) SAT RFA

Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI Back to Black: A Philly Tribute to Amy Winehouse, SUN Tiedye Ky

The Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal St.) FRI Mt. Joy

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) SAT (Downstairs) Dee Dee Sharp

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2^nd St.) FRI The Captain The Pilot The Driver, Commonwealth Choir, Slomo Sapiens, SAT Davey and the Chains, Haunted Homes, The Fantastic Imagination, Mr. Unloved, SUN Lady Parts (Album Release), Brackish, Brother Martin

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Chris Gennett, Lucida, SUN Slenko & McKeys, The Russells, Tapes & Tubes

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI The Funky T, Walt Lafty, Judah Kim & The Assassination, SAT The Core, Brown Sugar, SUN Catullus

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3^rd St.) FRI Wolf Dem, Teknacolor Ninja, KT Caustic, SAT A.M. Mills, Mark Lanky, SUN Kirby & the VibeTribe, Scantron

The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) SAT Gene Wildest, Lucida, Ronald Reagan? The Actor?/Behind The Grandstand, Swwik, Sonny Knockout

Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) SAT Philadelphia Burlesque Academy Student Showcase

Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI Bo Bliz, Low Budget, SAT DJ Deejay

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT Cabin Dogs, SUN Rusty Cadillac

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9^th St.) FRI Holy Smoke, The Age Of Truth, Moons, SAT Live Not On Evil, The Droogettes, Cowbell Superstar, Lonesome Crow, The Pink Angels

Century (1350 S. 29^th St.)) FRI Hellrad, Traitor, Night Raids

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Common Ground, SAT Cookie Rabinowitz, Haywood Trout (CD Release), The New Peter Fonda Experience, Paul Keen

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Darla, SAT Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, Dynagroove, SUN The Whiskeyhickon Boys, Hannah Taylor and the Rekardo Lee Trio/The Urban Guerilla Orchestra

Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Friendship & Power Animal (Record Release), Free Cake For Every Creature, SAT Petal, Tombo Crush

The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18^th St.) FRI Rasan In The Heyday, Pro Post Time, Ganou/Earth Telephone, SAT Madam Data, Michael Bailey

Tralfamadore (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Flamingo Chicks, S.R. Frost, Rachel Andie

Double HH Ranch (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Molly Rhythm, Sun Hat, Secret Nudist Friends, Mavis The Dog

Planet Phitness (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI AllegrA (Record Release), Tombo Crush, Snake Boy Gang, SUN Yowler, Florry

Inconvenience Store (Please contact of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Jesse Bark, Rentboy, Chloe Likes Olivia

The Lighthouse (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Pilkington, Spelling Reform, Twin Beds, Buddie, PeakXV