Brian Fallon Brings New Jersey Rock to Philly
Shot and Written by Erika Szumel
October 17, 2026
Shot and Written by Erika Szumel
October 17, 2026
New Jersey rock legend Brian Fallon, known for his love of the Garden State, witty crowd banter, and love of all things music played two shows this week at World Stage (formerly World Cafe Live) in Philadelphia. The shows are part of Fallon’s Not Bad For New Jersey Tour, celebrating his fifth studio album, released in September.
Tim Barry, the lead singer of Avail, opened up both nights as a solo artist. I had never seen him perform live before, but one thing I know for sure—Fallon knows how to pick entertaining, honest, authentic openers that match the energy of the show. While the world is particularly scary, overwhelming, and “noisy”, as Barry called it, we can all get together and enjoy live music. He plays folk rock, just him and his guitar. But I might even call some of it protest rock too. He’s open about his thoughts on current events and that level of authenticity and passion always makes for an amazing show. He played six songs, including his most popular, “Avoiding Catatonic Surrender”. I highly recommend checking out his music.
I’ve seen Fallon so many times throughout the years. He’s one of those artists, the ones that you can always go back to, for me to find comfort and joy in both their presence and music, and grow with. On this album, he’s staying true to his Jersey roots and collaborating with a few incredible musicians, like Brandon Flowers and Donovan Woods. The night's set was a beautiful mix of old and new. He started with “Painkillers”, the title track from his debut solo album of the same name, released back in 2016. “And we want love like it was a drug, all we wanted was a little relief, and every heart I held in between, they were painkillers to me”.
Throughout the night he played songs from his solo catalog, threw in a cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and as a special treat, a few from the The Horrible Crowes side project. True Fallon fans were stoked to hear those songs, as it was a project that ended after just one album, and I think to this day, we all wish there were more. The setlist included three songs from the new record—“Better Before”, “Somewhere You Shouldn’t Be”, and “Not Bad For New Jersey”.
“Better Before” has some of my favorite lyrics from this album, “I don’t want to say, but if I had to tell the truth, I was better before the night I met you”. The song perfectly showcases Fallon’s style, with drawn-out, atmospheric guitar riffs popular in the 80s. When I heard this single, I was eager for the rest.
The crowd was a little calmer than I expected, but fans still sang and danced the entire time. If you haven’t listened to Not Bad for New Jersey yet, you’re missing out on a classic New Jersey rock n’ roll album. Fallon’s tour continues in Europe in November, and then ends back home for a sold out show at Starland Ballroom, on December 3.
Coverage from October 14, 2026 at World Stage in Philadelphia, PA. All photos are © Erika Jane Photography. and cannot be used without permission.