The tech and music worlds are colliding for this REC Philly event

Two local tech firms and one coworking spot will get a makeover on Sept. 28 as they play concert venue for a day as part of REC Philly’s Tech Tour.

The West Philly agency for independent creators is whipping together a free music crawl of sorts that looks to shine a light on the overlaps between Philly’s tech and music communities.

An example of the overlap can be found in this event’s origin story. Ballard Spahr attorney Greg Seltzer, who’s key to the firm’s entrepreneur-focused practice and has advised local startups like NeuroFlow, also organizes a festival called Philly Music Fest, which is slated to go down Sept. 27–30. Alongside Guru founder Rick Nucci (an avid concert goer who named his company’s conference rooms after Philly venues), Seltzer pitched REC Philly cofounder Dave Silver on an event series that would marry both worlds.

“It’s another great opportunity to bring the communities together,” Silver said. “They both have a lot of underlying roots. ”

The crawl kicks off at noon. Before the concerts, each office will play host to a panel discussion. For the first stop, at Arcweb Technologies’ Old City HQ, a talk on data analysis will precede a set by jazz musician Max Swan. Then, it’s onto Center City for a not-yet-announced headlining artist who will play a show at Guru’s headquarters. The preceding panel is called “Maximizing a product launch: Launch a Product Like You Release an Album.”

“As a company that helps design and build digital products, we’re acutely aware of the ways that technology shapes our culture and our lives,” said Arcweb Technologies’ head of marketing, Kurt Schiller. “So we jumped at the opportunity to get that discussion out to a larger audience and involve the community.”

For the third stop, at 1776’s West Philly spot, the panel talk is on female entrepreneurship. Then, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Rachel Andie will take the stage. The final stop in the crawl is World Live Cafe, where Philly Music Fest will be on its second day.

The event comes at a time where national awareness of the local music scene is “getting hotter,” according to Silver.

“Philly is re-surging as a place for talent to be born and grow in,” Silver said. “But the perception is that you’ll launch here and move to other cities. Philly is one of the best creators of talent but it struggles to keep that talent inside the city. But it is back on the rise.”

Sound familiar?