'Solstice in the City' Set for Today at Kimmel Center

Countdown to summer is just a few days away! Join us as French performance group La Compagnie du Transe Express celebrates Solstice in the City Celebration (today, Kimmel Center, June 21) with a pop up teaser performance like no other at Paine's Park on June 20.

Do you remember, Philly? ...La Compagnie du Transe Express are returning to Philly from PIFA 2011. French street performers first wowed the region w. over 200,000 revelers gathering for the PIFA Street Fair to witness their acrobatic, aerial movements while suspended in mid-air as human chandelier to two ton crane on Broad Street.

Now the French provocateurs return -- for a quirky, comedic percussive -- drum performance on ground level, culminating a night of festivities at the Kimmel Center on June 21!

La Compagnie du Transe Express will be performing the finale at 1:15am for Solstice in the City (Saturday, June 21, beginning 8pm to 2 a.m). The celebration also features Brooklyn indie rock band Real Estate, experimental wunderkind San Fermin, and Beverly in Verizon Hall; Jazz Lounge world premieres by Kimmel Center's inaugural Jazz Residency Artists, and the Plaza transformed into a dance party with DJ MR. Best.

A Solstice Lounge w. special light installation over dance floor will also feature Skee-ball, foosball, ping-pong and hammocks, Chinese lanterns and Adirondack chair seating with Garces Group's Beer Garden providing draught beer from Victory and lite bites. Tier 2 Balcony Lounge will also be serving drinks for plenty of star gazing and street city views of the Avenue of the Arts. Bar Volver will have a signature Summer Solstice happy hour drink and will remain open until midnight.

Solstice in the City Schedule:

8:00pm-1:15am DJ Mr. Best / Solstice Lounge in the Plaza

8:00pm-9:00pm Bobby Zankel / Innovation Studio

8:45pm-9:45pm Beverly / Verizon Hall

10:00pm-10:45pm Josh Lawrence / Jazz Lounge-Innovation Studio

10:15pm-11:30pm San Fermin / Verizon Hall

11:30pm-1:00am Pablo Batista /Jazz Lounge- Innovation Studio

12:00am-1:15am Real Estate / Verizon Hall

1:15am-2:00am Transe Express / Solstice Lounge in the Plaza

It all takes place on Saturday, June 21 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia, Pa.

La Compagnie Transe Express' thrilling performance, named Tambours, will be a drum circle, incorporating elements of performance art, closing out the evening's festivities. Transe Express is a performance collective with a strong disposition towards street performance and interactive presentation. The team is constituted of a hundred actors, acrobats, acrobats, bell ringers, dancers, percussionists, singers, string quartets, welders, technicians, and others that make up the motley crew. They recently performed Maudits Sonnants as the finale of the PIFA 2011 Street Fair.

Tickets for Solstice @ the Kimmel are available for $30 per person. Ticket price includes admission to all events. Tickets are available online at www.kimmelcenter.org/solstice, by calling 215-893-1999, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and later on performance evenings.

New Jersey's own Real Estate formed in 2008. An ideal blend of breezy relaxation and suburban melancholy evocative of Yo La Tengo and the Feelies, they have released three albums including their latest, Atlas. A triumph of perceptive songwriting and graceful, precise musicianship, Atlas carefully refines, and ultimately perfects, the brilliantly distinct artistic vision that made its predecessors Days and Real Estate so beloved. These indie rock veterans promise to deliver a sublime evening.

Philly native, Ryan Best, better known by his stage name DJ MR. BEST. Influenced by an eclectic blend of rock & roll, R&B, and hip-hop, he developed a well-rounded appreciation for music, and began collecting records at a young age. After getting his first set of DJ equipment, DJ MR.BEST quickly picked up the craft and began his pursuit to being one of the nation's most in-demand DJs. He recently landed a position as an official tour DJ for the Yahoo! "On the Road Tour" in 2013, performing alongside the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Imagine Dragons and Empire of the Sun, to name just a few. DJ MR.BEST comes to the Kimmel with an impressive background including DJ-ing for The Academy Awards, The Golden Globes, and The Emmys, as well as various movie and television premiere events such as Seven Pounds, Salt, Burlesque, Black Swan, Lost, and The Office to name a few.

KIMMEL CENTER, INC., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts Merriam Theater. Our mission is to operate a world class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience which includes providing arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming. The Kimmel Center Presents Season is sponsored by TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.