December 12, 2025
Peter Yang/City of Philadelphia
LL Cool J will play a free New Year's Eve concert at Eakins Oval on Dec. 31. The rapper was scheduled to play Wawa Welcome America on July 4, but he dropped in support of striking city workers.
Rapper LL Cool J will headline a free New Year's Eve concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway — six months after he dropped out of Philadelphia's Fourth of July concert in support of striking city workers.
The New Year's Eve concert at Eakins Oval begins at 8 p.m. and will be followed by fireworks. DJ Jazzy Jeff, Adam Blackstone, Dorothy and Technician The DJ also will perform. The concert grounds open at 6 p.m.
LL Cool J appears to have made peace with Mayor Cherelle Parker after he declined to play the Wawa Welcome America show on the Parkway at the last minute.
"Philly, don’t call it a comeback," the rapper said in a statement released by the city. "We've got unfinished business. Shout out to the Mayor for the invitation! Meet me on the Oval this New Year's Eve as we bring in 2026 — live."
On July 4, LL Cool J and co-headliner Jazmine Sullivan dropped out of Welcome America in a show of support to the city's largest labor union, which was in the midst of an eight-day strike. The union represents sanitation workers and other city employees who otherwise would have provided services to the event.
"I never ever want to disappoint my fans, and especially in Philadelphia," LL Cool J said in an Instagram post at the time. "Ya'll mean too much to me, but there's absolutely no way that I could perform, cross a picket line and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage."
City officials and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 eventually agreed to three-year deal that included 3% raises annually.
The New Year's Eve concert will mark the start of an eventful year for Philadelphia. The city is hosting FIFA World Cup matches, the MLB All-Star Game and various semiquincentennial celebrations honoring the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
"This free concert and fireworks showcase the incredible spirit of our community and the cultural legacy that Philadelphia embodies," Parker said in a statement. "Join us for Philly's first ever New Year's Eve outdoor concert as we kick off 2026 in America's Birthplace — this is truly the place to start our celebration of this historic anniversary!"
