Every weekday at 2pm since 1991, the University of Pennsylvania's indie music station WXPN (88.5 on the FM dial; www.xpn.org online) has broadcast its famed World Café concerts performed by a who's-who of amazing musicians who have passed through Philly. By 2004, it was outgrowing its studio space, so the show teamed up with local entrepreneur Hal Real to take over this 40,000-square-foot Art Deco factory and turn into into a three-tiered performance space fine-tuned for its acoustics. 

This is the place to come for truly intimate concerts—the spaces seat 650, 300, and a mere 100 in the ground-floor café—by anyone and everyone, from They Might be Giants, Bon Iver, Fran Ferdinand, Mumford & Sons, Nick Lowe, and the Pet Shop Boys, to Steve Martin, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, My Morning Jacket, Jack Johnson, and Buddy Guy.

Families won't want to miss the Saturday Peanut Butter & Jams, featuring kid-friendly music, dancing, and a buffet lunch. Most tickets run $10 to $35. Monday night is the free night, with 5:30pm Jazz Jams followed (most weeks) by "Philly Rising" open mic performances at 7pm.