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Boston Globe

Rain and new rules don't dampen Somerville's PorchFest

Somerville's PorchFest began in 2011 and has grown steadily since. Last year, driven by a performance from Guster, a popular 1990s and 2000s band from the area, the event reached new heights, with countless thousands of people completely packing many of the city's streets. The city became so packed that it — in collaboration with some musical artists — changed the rules this year in an effort to keep Somerville's primary arteries clear for traffic and emergency vehicles. The rules prohibited performances on 13 streets including Broadway, Summer Street, and Highland and Somerville avenues which hosted several dozen shows last year. Advertisement Also new this year is a team of 'ambassadors' to help guide foot traffic, point newcomers in the right direction, and serve as liaisons for bands performing in the same areas. They handed out maps with the locations of Porta-Potties, which were more numerous in an effort to keep people from relieving themselves on anyone's lawn. Advertisement The city also encouraged bands to coordinate time slots to space out performances. Still, Somerville was bustling. Groups of people who looked to be in their 20s and 30s roved the streets stopping every half block or so to check out the latest show they'd stumbled across. Traffic on the highway exits leading into town backed up in barely-moving lines of brake lights. Powder House Square was a disaster. Parking spots were fever dreams. 'It's a great day for local music,' said Croteau's bandmate Dan Oshiro, 25. Done by 1 p.m., the guys planned on making the rounds and seeing what else was going on. And the sounds of guitars and drums reverberated down every street. There was a variety of acts, from DJs to brass bands, but many had some flavor of rock. Often, it included 90s covers — think 'The Bends'-era Radiohead, Nirvana's 'Heart Shaped Box,' or Smash Mouth's 'All Star." Chad Wishner and Hayley Lynch, both 27, stood on Hall Avenue suspiciously eyeing one particularly adventurous DJ who'd spun a trap remix of Lit's 'My Own Worst Enemy," another 90's anthem. 'It's the age everyone is,' Wishner said. 'It's music from when we all were kids.' But the real draw, Lynch said, was the local acts. She provided quick directions to a good rock band and a fun horn section that performed with a vibraphone nearby. 'I love seeing all the local bands,' she said. 'It's really their time to shine.' The event, as it always does, had a game-of-telephone feeling to it. Many people wandering around had a couple of spots they planned to hit. There, they'd be meeting a friend of a friend, or maybe that person's cousin, who is, perhaps, playing drums or bass on some other guy's porch. Advertisement Such was the case for 27-year-olds Kalina Korzec, Parth Dhruve, and Ali Bacon, who'd paused briefly near Davis Square to listen to the vibraphone act that Lynch had described. They planned to see someone they knew who was in an a cappella group, as well as a mutual friend's coworker, who was playing a show somewhere else. Dhruve grinned: 'That's PorchFest.' Sean Cotter can be reached at