Something that I wish I had known sooner - they serve alcohol, but don't allow you to have it on the floor. You can only drink it on the balcony? We showed up early for our show so we could have a great spot, and of course we weren't going to give up our proximity to the stage just to be able to drink alcohol. This was a first for me, I've never heard of this rule at any venue I've ever been to. Obviously not a deal breaker, but we are the kind of people who only drink for a special occasion and we had been looking forward to this show for months, so that was a bummer. It was absolutely FREEZING when we walked inside, so if you're not going to be in the heart of the crowd or jumping around a lot, make sure you're prepared for that! The staff was nice, they have metal detectors upon entry and ticket scanning was quick/efficient. read more

Really nice venue! Was a little strange you can't leave the bar area with your drinks.

A wonderful experience! First time there and didn't know what to expect due to mixed reviews. I needed disability seating and the staff could not have been more helpful and accommodating! They were so nice and made my evening even more special! Very impressed with Franklin Music Hall and will definitely return! read more

Concert venue with general admission tickets- no stadium type seating. There is seating you will be able to grab if you purchase tickets for that area along the railing upstairs in the balcony bar area. This was not a negative. The crowd was great. The bar service was fast even though lines were long. There is a parking lot. ($25 for the night). The lot is not large so I'd recommend going early, park, grab a bite to eat nearby before the show. This type of venue is my preferred type over larger venues. Loved it. read more

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Just dropped my daughter off for a concert there, I have no idea what it is like inside she had a good time and enjoyed the show

I can no longer attend any event here. There is literally no where to sit, and I qualify for ADA seating, so I tried to get a seat. First the staff said there were no more seats, then one seat was available and there were only 8 seats and lots of room. My husband stood behind me and was told he couldn't stay with me because GA people couldn't see. Arguing with the staff was fruitless. We had to leave early. On the way out we saw another woman that was in ADA seating and she said it was horrible. read more

we saw hayley williams on 4/6. CSC staff was amazing and made the show so much more enjoyable! they were great and took care of everything for us. specifically Eric and Michele, they were so kind and supportive to fans and helped make sure the fan line was honored. they totally elevated the experience! michele stood outside in the cold all day the day of the show to help manage the fan line, and to make sure everyone was safe. she was so kind and funny! Eric helped manage the crowd at the barricade, passed out waters to everyone, and made sure nobody was shoved around. thank you so much again for making our night perfect!!! read more

Franklin Music Hall - inside of venue - Music Venues Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

not good. couldn't see the band at all besides on the screens. too crowded and uncomfortable.

Went to see strongboi and Men I Trust recently. I like this little intimate venue a lot. Parking space could be improved. They have a cool little snack shop. I didn't try the drinks but I will next time I go in October. I assume they will be overpriced like most venues are. read more

Worst place. It was 36 degrees out. There was no heat. Even the group performing complained, several times. The place was freezing. They made people wait forever outside. Very unorganized. As someone with a disability, the security were not very nice. Traveled from NY. Would never return here. Owned by Bowery Presents who own a ton of venues, many I've gone to, all the time, over the years. This is THE WORSE! read more

The last time I was here was maybe 7 + years ago ... and it was still the electric factory. Actually upon booking this concert I was like what is Franklin music hall. Literally nothing is different aside from the sign and the fact that they painted the bathrooms. Otherwise it's all the same. I don't think this is a bad venue at all in fact I like it a lot more than some of the other Philly venues. We tried to get a seat up front but couldn't. I definitely feel like they had opportunity to add more seating particularly in the riser section but didn't. They have a cost check and spaces for merch. They also had a little snack stand / kitchen. The prices were not terrible. It was a little odd that they sold popcorn in ziploc bags but popcorn is popcorn I guess. For the most part there was ample staff and they were nice. Our ids got checked outside to speed up the process inside. There is a metal detector inside but you can bring a bag and it just has to be under a backpack size, which was nice! There is parking right in front, I believe it was $25. Otherwise there are a few other lots around. All in all not a bad experience, like I said I didn't notice many changes but I would go back! read more

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Horrible service by security. Went to see Sam Barber tonight. General Admission and was hanging out with a group in the 21 and over section. My brother left to go to the bathroom(20 feet from the section) and they wouldn't let him back in. They never let him know he wouldnt be allowed back in. I asked why and they said they were over capacity. I asked for a supervisor as multiple people were leaving and he ignored us. I piinted out to security that they never said you couldnt come back in, that we paid a lot of money for tickets, and how there was plenty of room in the section but they said "we have a new boss and he doesnt care". Completely ruined our experience. With 5 songs left, they let everyone in as they were over run with complaints read more

3 1/2 stars. Sounds quality is ok, not great. However, views are superior from most parts of the floor and the 2nd floor bar area. Food is low quality and limited options. Decent beer and beverages options. Prices are a bit high. Entry point is confusing. The doors at the address are not the entry point. You enter through the parking lot area. read more

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Saw The Smile here in July 2023. It is a decent venue. The acoustics are ok - clearly lacking compared to a modern venue, but they are not horrible, so I wouldn't discourage people from coming. They have a weird set-up, where there is the standard large floor area with a balcony upstairs, but rather than a U shaped balcony that is symmetrical, the stage is essentially pushed off to one side, and the balcony only overlooks one side of the stage. The venue is very small (about 1,500 people), so no matter where you are, you aren't far. We came for a show with doors at 7, opener at 8, and main event at 9. We showed up right at 7, and the line was already around the block, but we were able to secure a decent spot on the balcony. If you want a really good spot or seat upstairs, come earlier than that, it will be worth it. One complaint I heard from people was that the venue was hot. However, upstairs, you don't notice it because there are giant fans that really provide cool comfort. Apparently, the floor can be miserable on hot days. The balcony also has numerous bar/concession areas that make getting drinks pretty easy. We appreciated that. Overall, I had a fun time, though it isn't anything special. read more

Place is trash and chaos. We were held back and it took my other half of my friends over 45 minutes to get into the venue. The staff was rude, inconsiderate and untrained. They didnt offer any refunds when emailed either. Take a look at the other reviews, this wasnt just a bad night, this is there m.o. Find a better venue booking agents. Love, This Yelp Elite read more

50% is obstructed view. They over pack the place. Unless you're willing pack yourself in like a sardine, the sound is horrible. The bars are hard to get to. It is the absolutely worst venue on all of Philadelphia - past or present. read more

First time at this venue, and it was impressive. Got there early so were not too far back in the entry line, and staff was helpful and came through before doors opened to check IDs and provide hand-stamps for those who could drink. Sound system was great, the prices on drinks were about what you would expect in the area. It got VERY packed, so it was tough to move from your spot and hope to get back, but again, any general admission concert venue is like that. read more

Franklin Music Hall - the entrance to the building - Music Venues Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For our first time concert here this place totally sucks! And if you wouldn't been for being a band I wanted to see and probably will never tour again and it was the only stop so I had to go I already died I would have never went if I would have known how bad this place was disorganized oversold sound quality sucks totally sucks!!! This venue is all about money but how many they could stuff in there!!! One bar on the second floor nothing on the first floor $13 for a mini pizza.. All they're searching for is dollar signs make you wait outside the venue in line in the cold don't let nobody in on time did not start the show on time Show was supposed to start at 7:00 didn't start till 8:30 People are still standing outside after 7:00 very rude this place needs to be shut down I will never come to a venue here again ever!!! read more

The absolute worst concert venue. Maybe sell half as many tickets. Too many other great places to enjoy live music in Philadelphia.

The worst music venue in Philly. Acoustics are painfully bad, the staff is extremely rude for absolutely no reason, and the layout is horrible for seeing bands. read more

I recently went here for a concert back in September. It is a really easy venue to get to and I loved that there was parking that you paid for. Walking inside, I wasn't really impressed with the venue. It was pretty small compared to others that I have been to. Overall, I still had an amazing time but I just wish the place was a little bit bigger. read more

The sound quality was decent. The area for people to enjoy the music was just way to crowded and being on the shorter side in the way back behind a lot of tall people wasn't enjoyable. It was very crowded and early sept it was hot, half the fans were not on. The food selection was horrible (candy,popcorn, cookie and pizza) all overpriced; water $4.50. The balcony area would have nice to view from but again just to crowded. I heard 3000 tickets sold and this venue is for around 1500 people. The staff were nice. Parking was downright horrible. Closest parking garage was 1 mile away - went with a parking garage for safety reasons and the walk in center Philly / back ally's SKETCHY. Deff will not be back to this venue unless I show up super early to get a balcony seat. read more

Franklin Music Hall - Music Venues Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Well, we were having a nice time, until the show started and the entire back right section couldn't see anything because two douche bags in the ADA area (obviously NOT handicapped) were acting like trashcan human beings. They came with a handicapped person in a wheel chair, but stashed him the back while they stood IN FRONT of him acting like complete assholes. Clearly they just brought this poor guy along so they could have a better view. There was plenty of room in the box for them to stand on the side, not blocking anyone else's view (including that of the actual handicapped person), but they purposely chose to be inconsiderate, and the venue staff did nothing about it. Apart from that, 20% of the ground floor was shut down for unknown reasons, but if that wasn't bad enough, they had a giant curtain hanging up blocking the stage views. If you need to block the area, fine. But why hang the giant curtain? Drinks are way overpriced; the red wine tasted like vinegar, and social distancing is just a thing they claim is happening. I don't care who's playing there next time; hard pass. read more

Franklin Music Hall - Music Venues Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I will never be back. I have seen this band in 10 different venues ranging from county fair to UF stadium, and this was the absolute worst experience of all. First the sound: unpleasant and so loud it was distorted. The view was nonexistent even from the middle of the room. Doors were 20 minutes late while we stood outside in winter. The facility was dirty, the bathrooms insufficient, and bar was poorly stocked. Overall an experience that made me crave the creature comforts of county fair mediocrity. read more

Your phone message states the box office will be open on Friday from 12 noon to 6pm. I arrived Friday 7/05/24 at 12:15 and no one was there. Really annoying man. At least, update the phone message. read more

This venue is unfortunately my least favorite of all Philly (and, any city) venues. I've been here a number of times and each time, it is absolutely way too overpacked. The most recent time was ridiculous though, and no one in my area (upper bar to the right) was able to see the artist, like, at all. Literally did not lay eyes on her the whole time aside from the TV (and I'm not short). Super disappointing! The lower GA section was insanely cramped and people still couldn't see from the back due to the low ceilings on the right. The back of the GA floods into the main area which is so uncomfortable and makes leaving rough. Music did sound great and the bar was quick. They need to make drastic cuts to their capacity ASAP. If you're coming here soon, you gotta get there Early Af if you want to see anything/be comfortable. read more

The floor is too hard. My feet hurt, it's hot in here. I wish I was at home playing video games.

honestly terrible venue. packed like sardines and a lot of people fainted. very disorganized and unsafe. i saw an amazing artist so it was nothing about them. just the safety of the venue. i was in GA at the filmore and it was so much better than this venue. read more

They overpack the crap outta this venue. The downstairs bar is closed half the time so it's impossible to get a drink. This is the worst spot in philadelphia to see a show. read more

This venue is always a 3 or 4 stars. Can't bring drinks from upstairs to downstairs, but getting in and out of the oddly shaped crowd is always hard. The sound is inconsisent in different parts of the room, but near the back, there are tons of fans and the sound has a good balance. The parking workers were being very rude to my car and refused to let us park, so we had to park a few blocks away, but the lot was $15 less and worth the savings. Great light set up for the last show, though. read more

I don't know who organized the parking for this place but I've never been so disappointed. We came for a Dayseeker concert and we missed the first 40 minutes because they over parked the lot and they STILL charged 30, no offers for even a cheaper rate due to us missing a show we paid for. Along with this, the Place they parked us wasnt even a spot. a response would be nice as to why this occurred. read more

I went here for the little Vedo concert! (Which I loved) I didn't have any food b/c there wasn't anywhere to sit to eat. Drinks were a little pricey, but that was expected. The decor was wonderful! I took some great pictures! read more

Sound quality was ok. Floors were disgustingly sticky (like they haven't cleaned them in years!). Bar is expensive (to be expected). We paid $10 to park in a lot down the block. read more

So I haven't been to FMH since the name change from the electric factory. Not much has changed though. The venue is still the same, standing room only. The first floor is concession stands and t shirt sales etc. The second floor is where the bar is located. They have a decent variety of brews. They offer mixed drinks to ciders. At $14 it's a bit steep for a local brew but it is what it is. Overall we had a good time and would return. The show was good and the venue was decent. You cant ask for much more. read more

Franklin Music Hall - Music Venues Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We came here last night for a show and it was a good time! Small venue with a good sound system! From the security getting in to the security leaving, no issues at all. The security guy walking in made sure you had all your stuff and no one would take it before you walked away. We were second row and even though there were issues in the crowd, we had a good time and didn't get involved. Security even let it be because it wasn't really hurting anyone. We didn't buy any beverages, but the prices didn't seem too bad to me. We opted to spend more money at the Merch table instead. They did have a few good items and nonalcoholic drinks of course. When leaving I couldn't find the bathroom and had to ask. Again, a nice security guard pointed me in the right direction. We opted to park down the street to avoid the 15 dollar charge. Not a bad idea as long as you aren't on your own and are aware of your surroundings. There is plenty of non metered parking if you're willing to venture off the beaten path. All in all, we'd go back. Also, upstairs they had plenty of seating. read more

Dear god I must have seriously forgotten how bad the sound really was. But Sadly it took a show that would have otherwise been practically flawless to remind me. If you enjoy bad sound, surly douche whistle workers, over priced drinks and a factory atmosphere with your concert then this is the place for you. Otherwise? unfortunately I would normally say avoid this place to high heaven and don't look back! But unfortunately it still manages to bring in the good shows that are pretty hard to avoid (why did Animal Collective have to play here?). And that's just one of the many reasons why I hate Ticket Bastard! But I may as well leave this update with some good advice. Never EVER park in the overpriced joke of a lot. Because there's usually plenty of free parking just a couple blocks away (or at Shampoo). read more

I'm a supporter of the arts and live entertainment, and had the opportunity to see Animal Collective at the Electric Factory. This was my first show there (oh, and my first concert EVER), and it won't be the last. (For parking, look for street parking first, especially on a weeknight.) Ventilation at the Factory was adequate, thanks to fans and a high ceiling, but at times I think I smelled pot smoke. Liked the venue lighting and the synchronized roboto light effects above the stage. The crowd was somewhat younger, with older folks in the 21-and-over upstairs bar area overlooking the floor. Noticed an annoying, probably chemical-influenced, and definitely horny couple that really needed to get a room. The performance was an odd experience - whoever classified Animal Collective as "experimental" wasn't kidding! I heard a variety of atypical musical compositions: some styles I couldn't get into, but others I found strangely hypnotic. Can't vouch for the audio quality, but my fellow concert-goer said the sound system might not have been set up correctly since we were having a hard time understanding what the performers were saying/singing. Then again, it could have just stunk. read more

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I've been to The Electric Factory an abundent amount of times, but it's sadly one of my least favorite concert halls. Electric Factory from the outside to the inside interior has so much promise to be a 'hip' edgy venue. But the acoustics are just bad, bad, badddd. It kind of ruins it all. We came here last night for a private show then to see Circa Survive later on in the night. We arrived at the time we were supposed to be there and everything ran smoothly. Staff moved us effecitantly to the green room / meet and greet. However, the staff is pretty damn miserable. The main guy checking ID's out front actually looked like he wanted to die being there. Once the private show was done they brought us around back and had us re - enter in the VIP section. Again, ran very smoothly. My husband and I luckily were the first ones to enter the bar area and were able to grab seats over looking the stage. Oh, and be prepared to spend an arm and a leg on drinks! Now I went to this show because I'm a fan of three of the four bands that played last night. With being a fan I know the lyrics to their songs. Because the acoustics are so bad I often found myself wondering what the heck they were saying. The sound is extremely muffled and very unclear. It's really a shame. Even when recording videos all you can hear is the background guitars and such. -- We ended up heading out earlier so when we got to our car we realized we had another car behind us enabling us to back out. We went to one of the staff members out front on what to do and the lady was so horrible about it. Rude, and just overall a total asshole. I'm looking at you Reds. Then she proceeded to very aggressively move the gates in front of us acting like we were a total inconvience. I'm really not a fan of having attitude over things that are probably in your job title. Looking past staff, EF gets a solid three stars from me. read more

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Ahh, concert venues with general admission / standing floors. A concept I've loved since my many concerts in the NYC area because it's way more intimate and fun to attend those than stadiums, sports arenas, etc. Also, shows how much of a die hard fan you are by devoting time vs. money. But man, this is probably my least favorite venue in the city of Philadelphia. Electric Factory books a lot of my so-called "mainstream indie" artists and groups so I've gone to see Marina and the Diamonds, Daughter, Ninja Sex Party, and Two Door Cinema Club. They get a some nice acts in a general admission area. But golly, there's something really off about their sound and ventilation - two things you need to have a good time in a concert venue. I could barely hear Marina and Daughter because I'm not sure if the ceiling is that much of a damper or the audio engineers were having bad days. I brought my cousin to her first GA concert and she nearly passed out from the lack of ventilation. At the most recent concert I went to, I felt dizzy by the end too and I was standing front and right off-center... why? The bar areas are sectioned off from the main floor, much like Union Transfer but not as cool. Not all concerts have enough attendees to open the upstairs area (i.e. the Daughter concert) but there is the one downstairs if you still want to be close to the stage but not fight with all the younger folk and have a beverage. Parking is also a pain if you don't want to break the bank. The lot here typically charges upwards of $20. Street parking is possible but not so simple. Tickets can be purchased at the box office and is a pretty good experience typically. I'm all about physical tickets and less fees so kudos to that. It's the biggest GA venue but even NYC's equivalent of Terminal 5 is infintely better than this place. I go here for the bands but it's only so enjoyable. Union Transfer, Trocadero, and the Fillmore have really stepped up their game and it's time Electric Factory does so as well. read more

This is one of the most solid venues in Philadelphia. Definitely better than District N9Ne (old Starlight), and imo, better than Soundgarden Hall. Hell, this and TLA are probably my favorite venues. I like how big it is. I like the higher balcony for 21+ so if you don't want to rage with all the little kiddies downstairs, you can drink, chill, and dance upstairs watching your favorite acts. The sound system is SOLID too, which is super important. It can take bass (saw Skrillex, Zeds Dead, Nero etc here). Great venue. I just want more reasonable drink prices... haha read more

Franklin Music Hall - One of my favorite venues in Philly. For my favorite Zeds dead - Music Venues Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania