Wu-Tang Clan, Cyndi Lauper, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Questlove, and Kurt Vile headline a busy music week in Philly

This week in Philly music features what might be the final Wu-Tang Clan concert ever, plus Weird Al Yankovic and Cyndi Lauper on back-to-back nights at the Mann. Plus, a hip-hop party with Questlove and a host of other Philly DJs, two nights with Kurt Vile opening for the Pixies, and a rare show by the great, ever-evolving, British punk band the Mekons.

Let’s begin with the Wu. The Long Island hip-hop crew, held together by sonic visionary RZA, was last in Philadelphia at the Franklin Music Hall in 2019 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their 1994 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

At the time, the hip-hop crew, which includes Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, GZA, and more, made it a point to emphasize that when they started out, Philly was the second biggest market for the group after New York.

So it makes sense that this time around, the “Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber” tour is ending in Philly. When the date at the Wells Fargo Center — which includes openers Run the Jewels — was announced in February, RZA told the New York Times, this “may be the last time you see us all together in the physical. You might watch us on TV, but we’re not coming to your city again.”

Also on Friday, Rose City Band, the Portland, Ore., jammy band led by guitar hero Ripley Johnson, who mellows down easy on the slightly psychedelic Sol Y Sombra, plays Ardmore Music Hall. And it’s a glam rock extravaganza at Ortleib’s in Northern Liberties with Philly’s Creem Circus, plus Flavor with DJ Mars and Noah.

Saturday at Warehouse on Watts, two legendary Philly DJ parties will be unified with Stacey “Flygirrl” Wilson’s Tastytreats, and Cosmo Baker and Rich Medina’s the Remedy under one roof. Billed as Legacy, the line up is a who’s who of Philly 1990s and early 2000s hip-hop DJ culture with Questlove, Mike Nyce, Yameen Allworld, and Flygirrl on one floor. Baker and Medina, who also did the Remedy thing at The Roots Picnic this year, are on another.

British punk band the Mekons have been arty, uncompromising, and often hilarious in a career that’s nearing 50 years. Debuting with “Never Been in a Riot” in 1977, they essentially invented cow-punk with Fear & Whiskey in 1985 and the even better The Edge of The World in 1987, followed by an all-time classic in The Mekons Rock ’n’ Roll in 1989.

Decades later, the shambling and subversive band featuring prolific songwriter, visual artist, and Waco Brothers leader Jon Langford, is still at the top of its game on the remarkably good new Horror, a mordant take on the sorry state of the world. It’s a band of merry men and women including masterful vocalist Sally Timms and ace songsmith Tom Greenhalgh.

The Mekons plays the Ethical Society on Saturday night with Ithaca, N.Y., gothic songwriter Johnny Dowd, who shares their darkly comic sensibility, as the opening act.

Kate Campbell-fronted Philly power trio Poppy — who released the hard-hitting EP Still There last year — plays a free 5 p.m. show at Attic Brewing in Germantown on Saturday. Highfield and August & Rebecca open.

On Saturday, PhilaMoca hosts Popadelphia, a night of Philly guitar-pop acts with not one but five bands. Log Flume headlines, with the Jette Planes, John Faye, the No Good Crowd, and Polaroid Fade on the bill.

Weird Al Yankovic’s “Bigger and Weirder Tour” plays the Mann Center on Saturday. The comedic music maker will do some serious songs but expect plenty of his trademark parodies from “Tacky,” a play on Pharrell’s “Happy,” as well as “My Bologna,” from the Knack’s “My Sharona,” and of course “Like a Surgeon,” after Madonna’s “Like A Virgin.” Pagliacci-inspired clown Puddles Pity Party opens.

Cyndi Lauper is going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October, thanks in part to two signature songs written by Philadelphians on her 1984 She’s So Unusual album. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was penned by the late Robert Hazard, and “Time After Time,” which was written with the Hooters’ Rob Hyman. The former gives its name to the farewell tourthat brings Lauper to the Mann Center on Sunday. Jake Wesley Rogers opens.

Ducks Ltd, the jangly Canadian power-pop duo of Tom McGreevey and Evan lewis, play the Ukie Club on Monday, in support of their terrific 2024 album Harm’s Way. Trace Mountains open.

Femi Kuti, son of Afrobeat inventor Fela Kuti, plays Ardmore Music Hall on Tuesday with his band The Positive Force.

The Pixies come to the Fillmore in Fishtown for two shows, revisiting classic albums from the alt-rock 1990s. The Black Francis-fronted band is playing 1990’s Bossanova and 1991’s Trompe Le Monde in their entirety on Tuesday, and will range across their catalogue on Wednesday.

Philly rock hero Kurt Vile, whose new five-song EP with Luke Roberts called Classic Love is due July 25, gets to open for one of his favorite bands both nights.

Dinosaur Jr. and Snail Mail team up, along with Easy Action, at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park on Saturday. In Atlantic City, Michael Franti & Spearhead play Ovation Hall on Friday and the Gin Blossoms and Blues Traveler are on a 1990s double bill there Saturday. R&B singer Kem is at the Borgata Event Center that night.