Q&A With Greg Seltzer: Balancing Festival And Firm Life As Philly Music Fest Marks Nine Years

Nine years of epic live local music, hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for Philly youth music programs, and one surprise viral moment—a Philadelphia Eagles player taking the mic at Philly Music Fest (PMF) last week. Founded by Ballard Spahr Mergers and Acquisitions Partner Gregory L. Seltzer and his wife, Jenn, PMF is a unique nonprofit festival designed to celebrate and support Philadelphia's vibrant local music scene.

Unlike typical festivals, PMF is independently curated and produced by the Seltzers, eliminating corporate involvement by hosting shows exclusively at independently owned venues and managing all organization in-house. This approach ensures musicians are paid well, and profits go directly to supporting local youth music education programs.

Each year, PMF showcases both nationally recognized Philadelphia artists and emerging local talent across genres including rock, punk, hip-hop, bluegrass, jazz, pop, metal, and R&B. The festival's proceeds benefit a range of music education organizations, such as Rock to the Future, Settlement Music School, Musicopia, and Girls Rock Philly—addressing the gaps left by public school funding cuts for the arts. In recent years, PMF has donated $100,000 annually to these programs after paying all musicians and venues.

Taking a quick break before jumping into planning next year's PMF, Greg answered a few questions about how he balances festival and firm life, the band selection process, and how Ballard's support over the years has helped grow PMF.

Q&A:

What inspired you and Jenn to start Philly Music Fest? Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked the idea?

The initial idea came out of my legal work representing the Newport Folk Festival, CID Entertainment (now 100x Hospitality), and attending the tech and venture capital programs at SXSW. Simply: Why does Philly not have a music festival? At the time, the Made in America festival was sporadic (now extinct) and XPoNential is amazing but focused on the singer-songwriter genre and is in Camden, NJ. I modeled a large-scale outdoor festival, but the math worked much better with the concept of smaller, independent venues and indoor settings, which meant no weather issues. Limiting the bands to Philly's geography was less a plan than a testament to its endlessly deep pool of talent.

How much did you raise this year?

After paying the bands and the venues, PMF will again donate $100,000 to music education programs for kids.

How does PMF decide which music education programs receive donations from festival profits each year?

We look at the community throughout the year and try to determine which programs are making an impact. We try to support programs in different genres, such as rock, jazz, classical, and hip-hop. Also, we like to support some programs that do standalone teaching and others that go into school and do after-school instruction. Both are important.

Are there any stories from these organizations that have particularly resonated with you personally over the years?

I was recently catching up with Matt Kerr from Beyond the Bars. Beyond the Bars is a community-based organization that uses music and provides a positive and safe space where youth who have been impacted by violence, or the incarceration system can express themselves. It has become an amazing program making an incredible impact and even hosting its own youth music festival—and Matt reminded me that when we first started donating to Beyond the Bars (in 2018), the PMF donation of $5,000 represented 50% of their budget. We now donate at least $10,000 to Beyond the Bars each year, and their budget (and impact) is much larger in 2025.

There are so many amazing and worthy Philly artists. Can you describe your process for selecting artists and genres each year?

Ultimately, my focus is on the smaller, emerging bands—listening, going to see them perform—and featuring them at PMF. But it always starts with the headliners, as I need to secure a proper headliner for each show to generate ticket revenue. Once I secure the headliner, then the fun starts—I decide which smaller bands would be a great fit to create a diverse lineup for each show. Most festivals stack genre-consistent bands on a bill, but I like to mix it up, as PMF's genre is geography.

How do you manage your time between the festival and being a lawyer?

Being a corporate lawyer is very helpful in running a music festival, as I handle all the contracts, financial modeling, and negotiation. My wife, Jenn, is a CPA and manages the budget, accounting, and handles hospitality and merchandise. The key, though, is staying organized and being methodical with time management. Each month, even each week, throughout the year, I have tasks for PMF that I handle early in the morning, late at night, or on the weekend. Booking happens in late fall, capital raising in the winter, branding and design in April, festival announcement in May, ticket sales and promotion during the summer, and festival execution in September and October. It's a lot of work, but the only way the math works is to run PMF very, very lean—essentially, Jenn and I put the time in all year, nights and weekends—then it all works.

Why is it so important for PMF to host shows only at independently owned venues and support venue staff?

Independent venues are rare, these rooms are owned and operated by citizens of Philadelphia. Other than just supporting citizens of Philadelphia, the key is that the independent venues have the autonomy to book shows that they feel are important. Larger, corporate venues route artists through the venues that "corporate" believes are important. Those shows may be important for Miami or Austin or LA—but Philly has a distinct vibe and culture, and that vibe and culture is represented by independent venues and staff.

Over the years, how have you seen PMF's economic impact on Philadelphia's music community grow?

We estimate an annual impact of $700,000, which includes payments to artists and venues, food and beverage revenue for the venues, design and merchandise contractors, and community donations, and impact to the music education programs.

Is there a genre or scene in Philly that feels most "underappreciated" right now?

Hard to say, but for PMF, we would love to promote and feature more hip-hop. There is an incredible studio and production scene in Philly around hip-hop, but not a tremendous culture of live hip-hop shows like there is for indie rock and punk.

How has Ballard supported PMF over the years? Has the firm's support changed from inception to today?

I've received immeasurable support from Ballard. First, I probably would not have even considered structuring PMF as a nonprofit without Ballard's focus on pro bono work. The culture of lawyers doing pro bono work is so ingrained in every Ballard lawyer that when conjuring the business model for PMF, nonprofit was front of mind. Additionally, just general support and encouragement, and recognizing that while it's obviously a noble idea, the firm engaging with PMF could present an opportunity to the firm. Over the last several years, Ballard lawyers have realized that many clients, particularly younger clients, don't always want to go to a Phillies or Sixers game; they might prefer concerts. And, sure we have a corporate box at the stadium, but inviting clients to PMF has resonated and facilitates a unique experience.

Do your colleagues and clients support you and PMF by attending shows? What impact has their support had on you personally as a founder?

This past year, for the Matt Quinn (lead singer of Mt. Joy) show, about a dozen Ballard lawyers came to the show, each bringing clients, and the reaction from the Ballard lawyers has been immense. Their clients were treated to a memorable performance that featured longtime PMF supporter Jordan Mailata (left tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles) singing lead vocal on "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse. The performance went viral and was featured in national media. These experiences provide Ballard lawyers a unique inside track to build relationships with clients.

Looking ahead, what are your hopes for both Philly Music Fest and Philadelphia's broader music scene in the next five years?

I get a ton of opportunities to grow PMF, both in larger venues and new geographies, but with a small, DIY nonprofit, bigger is not always better. Plus, honestly, I'm under strict guidance from Jenn that I am not allowed to expand beyond seven nights. Of course, this past year, I found a loophole—I kept it to seven nights, but expanded to nine shows by doing two shows a night for two of the nights. Unfortunately, I think that loophole will be closed for next year...

Anything new you're thinking of adding for 2026?

We always try to keep it fresh, and next year is our 10th anniversary, so we might call on some old friends to help us out. Stay tuned.