Ballard Spahr Partner Gregory L. Seltzer, a corporate lawyer known for merger and acquisition transactions and work with start-up companies, has founded Philly Music Fest, a two-day music and arts festival featuring exclusively Philadelphia-based musicians, artists, chefs, breweries, and distilleries.
The festival—the first of its kind in Philadelphia to feature exclusively local artists—will take place at World Café Live on September 22 and 23. Mr. Seltzer formed the festival as a nonprofit organization to support local musicians and artists. All proceeds will be donated to local music education charities, including the Settlement Music School and LiveConnections.
"Philly's music scene is thriving—the homegrown talent is incredible, and musicians are flocking to the city from New York and L.A.—but I noticed there wasn't much celebrating or supporting the community," said Mr. Seltzer. "Then, as I started organizing the festival, I realized it could be an opportunity to bring together all of the best cultural pieces of Philly—food, drink, and art."
At Ballard Spahr, Mr. Seltzer divides his time between M&A transactions and work with emerging companies. He leads the firm's Emerging Growth and Private Capital Group, representing start-up companies and the venture capital firms, private-equity funds, and angel investors that partner with them. Mr. Seltzer co-founded and helps lead the firm's widely recognized accelerator programs for start-up companies: Ballard Academy for Student Entrepreneurs and Project SING.
"The firm has a long history of supporting creativity and innovation in our community—from advising up-and-coming entrepreneurs to counseling local arts organizations," said Ballard Spahr Chair Mark Stewart. "Philly Music Fest is chance to support one of our own who is helping the community we care for so deeply. We are proud to sponsor it."
More than two dozen local bands and artists, including Strand of Oaks and Cayetana, will perform on both of World Café Live's stages during the two-day festival. The venue will feature local craft beer from 11 breweries, including Yards and Weyerbacher. Food to be served at the event includes sweets from Insomnia Cookies and selections from award-winning chef Michael Solomonov—through his teams at Federal Donuts, Dizengoff and Goldie.
About Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr LLP, an Am Law 100 law firm with more than 500 lawyers in 13 offices in the United States, provides a range of services in litigation, business and finance, real estate, intellectual property, and public finance. Our clients include Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, life sciences and technology companies, health systems, investors and developers, government agencies and sponsored enterprises, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The firm combines a national scope of practice with strong regional market knowledge. For more information, please visit www.ballardspahr.com.
