One Philly Concert on Parkway cut short by severe weather to resume after delay

PHILADELPHIA - The One Philly Unity Concert for America on the Parkway was cut short Saturday night as severe weather moved into the area, according to the City of Philadelphia. Organizers announced before 9:00 p.m. that the concert would end, and a recorded message repeatedly urged attendees to leave for safety.

Evacuation order and weather concerns at the Parkway

What we know:

The concert was promoted as rain or shine, but lightning, heavy rain, and wind forced organizers to pause the event, according to the City of Philadelphia. No announcement was made at the time about whether fireworks would still happen at 11:45 p.m. 

At 9:50 p.m., the city sent an email stating, "Due to severe weather and lightning, the One Philly Unity Concert for America was paused and all persons on the event site were advised to move to protected areas, including SEPTA's Suburban Station at 16th and JFK Blvd by on screen messaging on site, direct texting, and social media messaging."

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was immediately advised of the decision and stayed in direct contact with emergency leadership and event producers, according to the city. 

"Our foremost concern is for the safety of our guests, the crews, the artists, and all staff supporting this event. We will decide to resume when we are confident that it is safe to do so," said Managing Director Adam K. Thiel. "We are continuing to closely monitor weather conditions and developments and are in coordination with all departments and partners through our Emergency Operations Center."

The city encouraged residents and visitors to stay connected by visiting phila.gov or signing up for event updates by texting AMERICA to 888-777.

A recorded emergency announcement played throughout the concert grounds around 8:45 p.m., stating, "Due to approaching severe weather all persons should move quickly and calmly to the nearest exit." Crowds calmly packed up and left after Jill Scott finished her set.

Many attendees expressed mixed feelings as they exited. 

"It was a great time. But the weather is approaching and we gotta get out of here," said one man leaving. Another concertgoer said, "When I heard that announcement for the first time I literally thought it was the next person coming on stage as like a DJ set. Here is the announcement again so it is serious." 

Others were disappointed, with one young woman saying, "There's so many places in the city. I am probably going to Liberty Pointe right now. I thought that they said rain or shine, and I thought that we knew there were thunderstorms tonight."

The concert began at 5:00 p.m. and was set to feature Meek Mill, Will Smith, and Christina Aguilera as the headliner, but they did not make it onto the stage due to the weather.

After the evacuation, gusty winds, dirt, debris, rapid lightning, and heavy rain followed. Some attendees said they were prepared for rain. "(Were you prepared to stay if it rained?) Of course. (If it downpours though?) It is one hundred degrees, so I drank three gallons of water today. Already prepared," said a young woman leaving.

The show resumes after the storm passes

The City of Philadelphia announced on X that, "Now that threat of severe weather has passed, the show will continue with @theroots and a grand fireworks finale. The public are invited to come back and begin queuing up for re-entry into the concert perimeter. We thank everyone for their patience while the storm passed."

The city said next steps would be communicated as soon as possible and encouraged everyone to stay tuned for updates.

The concert’s interruption and resumption highlight the city’s efforts to balance safety with celebration during a major public event.

What we don't know:

It is not clear if Will Smith or other scheduled headliners will perform after the resumption. 

There is also no update on whether the full original lineup will take the stage or if the schedule has changed beyond The Roots and the fireworks finale.

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