Panchiko bring new album Chimera to Franklin Music Hall in April

Two weeks after their third album lands, the British band plays Philadelphia's former Electric Factory on Friday, April 23, 2027, with album guest Clarion opening.

Panchiko's story is one of the stranger ones in modern indie rock: a British band whose old music found an audience online long after the fact, to the point that, as Mixdown put it, they became famous without their knowledge. On Friday, April 23, 2027, that story reaches its biggest Philadelphia room yet: Franklin Music Hall, with Clarion opening.

The show was announced Nov. 2. It starts at 8 p.m., tickets are on sale through AXS, and the room holds 2,700.

The timing is the hook. On Oct. 23, Panchiko announced *Chimera*, their third studio album, due April 9, 2027 via Nettwerk, according to Stereogum. That puts this show exactly two weeks after release, so expect the new songs to be front and center while they're still fresh.

The album has a big guest list. The first single, "One Car Hits Another," features Mei Semones, and billy woods turns up on "Shandy in the Graveyard". The band recorded the 12 tracks at its own studio. And Clarion, the night's opener, is also among the album's guests, per The Line of Best Fit. That's a nice detail for anyone hoping the two acts share the stage at some point; nothing has been announced, but the connection is right there on the record.

Expect the new songs to be front and center while they're still fresh.

*Chimera* follows *Failed at Math(s)* from 2023 and *Ginkgo* from 2025. *Ginkgo* came out via Nettwerk, as BrooklynVegan reported at its announcement. Three albums in, Panchiko have moved well past being an internet curiosity and become a working touring band, and a 2,700-capacity Friday in Philadelphia shows how far that has gone.

The room has plenty of history of its own. Franklin Music Hall is the former Electric Factory, a name that goes back to a converted tire shop at 22nd and Arch streets that opened in February 1968, as the Inquirer has chronicled. The current building is at 421 N. 7th Street. In 2018, The Bowery Presents bought the venue and ran a contest to rename it. Fans picked Franklin Music Hall, a nod to the Benjamin Franklin face on the old Electric Factory logo (PhillyVoice, WXPN).

What to know: the show is more than five months out, but it's a Friday in a big room for a band with a devoted online following, so don't wait for the album to drop before deciding. Get there early for Clarion; given the album connection, the opener is part of the point.

Plenty of bands get a second life online. Very few turn it into a third album and a Friday night at the old Electric Factory. April 23 is a chance to see one that did.

Sources: JamBase: Panchiko at Franklin Music Hall (jambase.com); Mixdown: Panchiko, death metal and becoming famous without their knowledge (mixdownmag.com.au); Stereogum: Panchiko announce new album Chimera (stereogum.com); Stereogum: Panchiko 'Shandy in the Graveyard' feat. billy woods (stereogum.com); The Line of Best Fit: billy woods, Mei Semones, Clarion among guests on new Panchiko album (thelineofbestfit.com); BrooklynVegan: Panchiko announce new album Ginkgo (brooklynvegan.com); Philadelphia Inquirer: Electric Factory turns 50 (inquirer.com); PhillyVoice: Electric Factory new name Franklin Music Hall (phillyvoice.com); WXPN: The venue formerly known as the Electric Factory will now be called Franklin Music Hall (xpn.org); Wikipedia: Franklin Music Hall (en.wikipedia.org)