Mayor Parker says city invited ESM back for July 4 concert
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Photo: Courtesy of the City of Philadelphia via Byron Purnell III
Mayor Cherelle Parker described in a City Cast interview last week how her administration had invited ESM Productions to produce Philadelphia's July 4 concert.
Why it matters: Parker's account raises questions about when the administration first approached the firm about producing the city's $15.5 million Fourth of July concert — a timeline the administration declined to clarify when asked by Axios.
Catch up quick: Axios reported this week that the city didn't seek new bids for the concert celebrating America's 250th birthday before hiring ESM.
- Instead, it relied on an existing deal between the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID) and ESM, which was also used to produce the city's first-ever free New Year's Eve celebration last year.
Driving the news: Parker recounted on City Cast deciding she wanted to bring back ESM Productions, which helped put on the city's former July Jam concerts between 2009 and 2015.
- "We say, 'We hope you all would consider coming back and applying for the opportunity to present this concert for America's 250,'" she said during the podcast.
Between the lines: Parker's comments offer another layer to the story of how ESM returned to City Hall's orbit after she says former Mayor Jim Kenney cut ties with the company when in office.
- But they also leave unanswered how the Parker administration's discussions with ESM fit into the procurement process the city has cited to justify hiring the company.
- The Parker admin declined to answer questions about when it first approached ESM about producing the concert.
Reality check: UPenn adjunct law professor Richard Feder, a former deputy city solicitor, told Axios Wednesday that Parker's comments could be "legally problematic" if the administration steered ESM toward the Fourth of July contract without letting other companies know the opportunity existed or giving them a chance to compete.
- If that "information was not provided to the general public as part of the solicitation, that's inappropriate," he says.
Zoom in: Records obtained by Axios show ESM applied in December 2024 to become part of the city's "Strategic Support Partners" roster — a pool of pre-vetted consultants created through a broader solicitation that wasn't specific to the Fourth of July concert.
- PAID signed a deal with ESM in May 2025. Months later, the company produced the city's first-ever New Year's Eve concert, records show.
- City officials discussed in internal emails the following March using that arrangement for the 2026 Fourth of July celebration.