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When it comes to breaking into Philly’s alternative-music scene, especially if you’re a female rocker, Sara Sherr is the person to impress. A promoter, host and DJ, the longtime South Philly resident seems to be in 50 places at once — and exposing talent in every one of them.
Whether hyping a show on South Street, heading a karaoke night in Old City or writing up concert reviews, the Second-and-Reed-streets resident has her hand in just about every type of music event the city has to offer. In the last week alone, she held a showcase for local bands and she participated in improv comedy group the Dumpsta Playas on top of her usual Monday-night stint as karaoke host at The Khyber on Second Street.
"I like to be busy," the 38-year-old said. "I like to have something creative going on. I guess from being a writer, and writing about events, I wanted to do my own events."
By day she works full-time in the sales audit department for Urban Outfitters in the Navy Yard; by night she is deeply entrenched in the entertainment business. She books shows at the local gem Tritone that brings out-of-town bands together with their local followings — like New York-based The Shondes, which Sherr described as "sounding like Sleeter-Kenny with a violin" — and closer-to-home, up-and-coming groups.
The venue at 1508 South St. also houses her pride-and-joy project (and probably what she’s most known for) Sugar Town, which is a promotional night for lady DJs and rockers to spin, sing and play. Held monthly, the event started seven years ago when there was a flood of rock DJ nights, Sherr said. Back then, most of the known jockeys and promoters were men. Additionally, as Philly’s punks and rockers gained momentum, Sherr said the attention went to the guys, with women musicians achieving little recognition in the public eye. A self-empowering chick, she took the matter into her own hands, making it a goal to promote and expose the area’s talented women artists.
"Sugar Town was a way for me to champion female musicians," Sherr said a week before this month’s Feb. 23 event hit the stage. "Whenever you talk about rock bands from Philadelphia, it’s not as much about the women, and so having this showcase encourages women to get involved."
This time around two South Philly-based bands, Ken and Beretta 76, played their tunes.
Now a respected spot where women musicians can experiment with their sound and get their name out, Sugar Town at the Tritone has established "this idea of a community," Sherr said. "Sometimes women feel alienated in the rock scene and I wanted to make them feel comfortable."
Her aspiration to aid female artists might take front-and-center stage, but the desire to develop Philly’s overall music circle also plays a big part in why Sherr keeps a busy schedule.
Since her father, Ron, played in several bands before becoming a mobile DJ for parties and weddings, Sherr has spent a lifetime in the scene. Moving to the Northeast when she was 11, after bouncing from Roxborough to Phoenixville to Langhorne, Sherr has been in Philly ever since, which makes her an expert on the local circuit she’s watched flourish for decades.
Although she modestly denies being musically talented — despite playing the viola for most of her childhood and attending the renowned Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts — the 1992 Temple graduate is a self-proclaimed karaoke addict. A pastime that began by going out to Locust Bar with friends turned into a proper hosting gig at Millcreek Tavern, 4200 Chester Ave., a few years ago. Though she’s moved on to The Khyber, Sherr had received nods from local blogs and publications while at Millcreek for her animated ability to get amateurs and seasoned singers alike to belt it out for audiences ordering $1 pitchers.
This enthusiasm, no doubt, comes from her inherent love to perform. "I like to sing ‘These Boots are Made for Walkin” from Nancy Sinatra," Sherr said, which is appropriate, considering Sugar Town is named for a ’67 Sinatra song. She confessed she also loves "anything by the Rolling Stones," adding, "I think anybody sounds good singing the Rolling Stones, because it’s more about attitude than being a great singer."
At the time she was securing a permanent spot in Philly’s karaoke elite, this musical Renaissance woman was discovered on the DJ scene. While writing about music for a few Philly newspapers in the 1990s, she spun off and on at various venues. The Trocadero Theatre liked what they heard and gave her a night. Since then, she’s become hip to the range of interests and styles that make up the city’s alt-crowds.
"There’s so many different scenes going on right now," Sherr said. "There’s the indie-rock scene and there’s the punk-rock scene and then there’s the folk scene."
She’s noticed the city’s music fans becoming more and more diverse, and groups that were once isolated are now melting into each other by sharing the bill.
"The crowd does depend on the kinds of bands that I book," Sherr said, "but there’s more to play than ever before — I think that there’s something for everybody … and the crowds are mixing it up more than they used to."
Philly’s music scene may be bumping, but Sherr said she would like to see the area south of South play host to more alternative acts.
"I think that in South Philly there are less places than in Fishtown, where there’s the whole warehouse scene, and West Philly, where there’s the whole house-party scene," Sherr said. "In South Philly … obviously there’s a lot more going on — like on the block where the Tritone and Bob and Barbara’s are — and there are places like the New Alhambra, who hosted the NY Dolls, for example. But the fact is that there’s not really a big live-music scene."
Living in the area for more than a decade, first at Eighth and Fitzwater streets until 2001, then a few blocks away at Fifth and Catharine streets for four years, and now at Second and Reed with longtime live-in boyfriend, Andy Selke, Sherr has seen firsthand South Philly has tons to offer the city’s live-music situation. Especially recently, as it’s become a melting pot of cultures and lifestyles.
"I still really like the neighborhood: the family atmosphere, the idea of keeping together," she said. "I like the whole diverse atmosphere; you’ve got the Vietnamese scene and the Mexican scene."
The homey feel mixed with the colorful population, Sherr said, hints at a potentially vibrant world that just hasn’t quite come into its own yet. "It seems like it’s likely that [a music scene] could happen west of Broad Street," she said.
Whether promoting women bands yet to find the limelight or hosting cutting-edge shows at one of South Street’s few live-music venues, it seems Sherr has a knack for exposing those who could use support.
"I think lately the stuff that’s considered cool and hip in the rock scene has forgotten about the underdog," she said.
