Latest news with #PorchFest
CBS News
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Nearly 450 bands play for large crowds at 14th annual Somerville Porchfest despite rain
The rain couldn't dampen the energy on the streets of Somerville as music lovers flocked to this year's PorchFest, a grassroots music festival that turns neighborhood porches into performance stages. "Everyone is out on the streets, and it's so much fun," said Taylor Hallabuk. Over 400 bands play at Porchfest Hundreds made their way from one front stoop to another, enjoying a diverse lineup of talent for the event's 14th year—this year, around 443 porches hosted artists. Among the highlights was Hot Start, a fresh face on the Porchfest scene. The band's drummer, Somerville resident Ben Jalbert, said it was a dream to perform in front of a hometown crowd. "I like the idea of playing outside, almost in a festival kind of setting," said Jalbert. "It's going to be pretty cool." More than 100 musical acts performed across the city. The festival offered something for everyone from indie rock to bluegrass, and even a pop-up square dancing lesson. "You follow your ear, you follow the music, and you just kind of listen for what you want and learn new things," said one attendee. Porchfest is more than just a showcase of musical talent for many residents; it is a celebration of community. Neighbors mingled, families danced in the streets, and strangers quickly became friends, united by a shared love of music and Massachusetts culture. The event again highlighted what residents say makes Somerville unique - an inclusive, artistic spirit and a willingness to embrace a little weather in exchange for a lot of fun. "It is the best community to be a part of. Everyone's out on the streets and it's so much fun. It reminds you you live in a beautiful community," Someville resident Taylor Hallabuk said. Changes to Porchfest There were some changes to Porchfest this year. Certain streets were excluded from the festival if they were used by emergency vehicles. A whole team of people organized to have official porchfest badges to discourage people from hanging out on others' private property.
Boston Globe
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 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
Boston Globe
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Somerville's Porchfest remains a showcase for a vast array of genres
Advertisement Somerville PorchFest isn't the only event of its kind in Massachusetts, nor is it the original PorchFest – that distinction goes to the version in Ithaca, New York. But the festival remains one of the area's largest musical mixers, both in terms of genre and artist-audience connection. The annual event returns this Saturday, spreading nearly 500 acts across Somerville for a free, all-ages afternoon of music discovery (albeit with a few so cars and emergency vehicles can better navigate the area.) Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up For many guests, the event is a chance to seek out homegrown musicians who sound similar to their current favorites (but perhaps no one too similar – we know how last year's Advertisement That's the beauty of a lineup that's nearly 500 hundred artists deep: there's room for more musical styles than many other large-scale music events around town, which often keep their lineup rooted in rock, pop, hip-hop, and folk music, or are devoted to a single sound, like jazz. There's even ample space for genre-mashers like Medford's doom metal brass band , a Boston group that layers flamenco and Latin pop. Boston ska band Pink Slip perform at Somerville PorchFest for the third time this Saturday. Jenny Bergman Heather Mack, vocalist of the Boston ska group 'Over 50 percent of the crowd are just completely wandering in like, 'What are they doing? Is that a ska version of 'What's Up' by 4 Non Blondes? Okay, I'm in,'' says Mack. 'Then they stick around and they're like, 'that was awesome.'' The variety is just as beneficial for the artists themselves, who might have the chance to curate a bill that combines contrasting genres in a way that's atypical of club shows, which tend to be more stylistically cohesive. 'I have a good amount of friends who play different genres, so we don't usually get to be on a bill together,' says Alexis Richardson, a former Somerville resident who performs as Advertisement Pink Slip and Borr will return to PorchFest this year, contributing to the event's signature variety; Pink Slip will perform with punk-adjacent groups Cinecam . 'Somerville PorchFest is a magical thing,' Mack concludes. 'It really is the high watermark for what these events can and should be.' GIG GUIDE headlines the venue with his new record 'Blanco 7,' the latest release in his long-running series of 'Blanco' albums. The Devil Makes Three strum Americana from their new album "Spirits" at the Paradise Rock Club on Saturday. Jarrod Macilla Cuban-American singer . More pop-tinged tunes are on tap from Ugandan-born, Texas-based artist Jon Muq visits City Winery on Friday. Morgan Wommack Camping out at City Winery this week will get you a global array of sounds, such as ( Advertisement Before kicking off a five-month tour of the United States, former Massachusetts residents On , At Roadrunner on Advertisement Massachusetts singer-songwriter Naomi Westwater is a keen observer of life on their third album, "Cycle & Change." Sasha Pedro NOW SPINNING Naomi Westwater, English singer and producer PinkPantheress releases her second mixtape "Fancy That" on Friday. Charlie Engman PinkPantheress, The Head and the Heart's sixth album offers sprightly folk for springtime. Jasper Graham The Head and the Heart, BONUS TRACK Whether you missed Somerville PorchFest – or loved it and are craving more free outdoor music – head to Emerson College's Advertisement Victoria Wasylak can be reached at . Follow her on Bluesky @
Washington Post
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The 38 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week
Is this the biggest weekend of 2025 so far? Combine the always-popular Around the World Embassy Tour, which features free open houses with games, snacks and cultural performances at more than 60 embassies, with Kentucky Derby viewing parties, Cinco de Mayo parties, the Running of the Chihuahuas at the Wharf, Adams Morgan's PorchFest neighborhood music festival, Washington National Cathedral's annual Flower Mart, the grand opening of Glen Echo's historic carousel, Star Wars-themed gatherings on May the Fourth and the return of outdoor movie season. Yes, there are going to be some hard choices to make, though at least the Cinco de Mayo celebrations are spread out, since the holiday falls on Monday.
Boston Globe
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Music festival clogged the streets of this 80,000-person city. Now, Somerville PorchFest will have more rules.
Then PorchFest got big. And bigger still. Now as musicians of all kinds — brass ensembles, classical quartets, raucous cover bands — apply to perform at the daylong festival set for May 10, they're being told to expect big changes this time around. This year, the city is rolling out new guardrails for the event — at which artists take the stage on porches, yards, and driveways for crowds that can swell into the thousands — including a ban on performances on most of the city's major arteries. Hopefully, that's for the better, say artists who made PorchFest what it is over all these years, and who have begun to worry the scrappy, DIY festival was getting too big for its own good. Advertisement 'So many people showed up last year that it seemed to be getting to a potentially dangerous tipping point,' said Ajda Snyder, a musician who performs under the name 'Ajda the Turkish Queen' and has played PorchFest many times. PorchFest has spawned the small city's streets. For many, it was the last straw. People crowd Aberdeen Road in Somerville while waiting to hear Guster perform. Erin Clark/Globe Staff Cars trying to pass through the city on festival day found they were slowed to a crawl, as attendees spilled out onto the streets, drinks sheathed in koozies. Narrow sidewalks became bottlenecks as large crowds tried to migrate between the festival's three zones, in which bands play during set time slots. A lot of fun, but a lot to manage. Related : Snyder remembers standing along busy Highland Avenue trying to to watch a friend's band, which features the delicate sounds of a theremin, and being bombarded by so much music in all directions that she could hardly hear it. It started to feel like a festival that prided itself on its grassroots nature could use some top-down structure. Advertisement 'It's almost like a victim of its own success,' she said. 'That's not good for the bands. That's not good for the attendees. To me, that's way too chaotic.' Snyder was one of several musicians who served on a committee that gave input on changes for the festival, although the city made the final calls. The most significant rule will outlaw performances on main roads, among them Broadway, Summer Street, and Highland and Somerville avenues. It's a move that comes in response to complaints that it was too hard for cars to get around on the day of the festival, including emergency vehicles. About 60 bands played on these roads last year, a festival organizer said. People who hope to perform or host other musicians on their porches have always been asked to register in advance, but they will now need to do so at least a month in advance. That way, organizers said, residents can better plan to avoid crowds if they choose. Bands near one another can coordinate so they aren't playing at the same time, or can be encouraged to get a block party permit and close their street to traffic. Officials said the city may deny applications if need be, and sites will need to display city-approved badges that show they've gotten the official OK from City Hall. Also new this year will be a team of 'ambassadors' to help guide foot traffic, point newcomers in the right directions, and serve as liaisons for bands performing in the same areas. Advertisement They will also hand out maps with the locations of porta-potties, which will be sprinkled throughout the city in larger numbers, in an effort to keep people from relieving themselves on anyone's lawn. Volunteers The idea is not to change PorchFest, said Gregory Jenkins, executive director of the 'We're the ones who helped create PorchFest,' Jenkins said. 'We are the first city in Massachusetts to do it, and it's become the biggest thing. And the city has opened its arms to doing this. So we just need to make sure that it's still a positive experience, that's all.' That's no easy feat, he said. Consider the growth it's had. Its first year, in 2011, 60 musicians signed up to perform. It jumped to 150 in 2015, when the event drew an estimated 4,000 people. Interest in the festival spiked after COVID lockdowns, Jenkins said, and by 2024, the roster of bands had skyrocketed to 413. That same year, Ryan Dilello, a Somerville musician who performed last year, said the spectacle was a blast, if a little unwieldy. It was a sign that changes might be on the horizon. 'We were definitely the archetypal troublemaker band, probably like 300 to 400 people clogging up Summer Street,' said Dilello, who also was invited to serve on the PorchFest committee, and Related : Advertisement All told, by the Somerville Arts Council's estimate, the festival drew 30,000 people. By comparison, Boston Calling, a more traditionally run music festival that takes over the Harvard Athletic Complex every Memorial Day Weekend and whose headliners this year are Luke Combs, Fall Out Boy, and Dave Matthews Band, has a capacity of 40,000. So what's a city to do? Reaction to the changes has been mixed. Commenters in Dilello said he'd hoped the city might instead adopt more widespread road closures to keep cars out of sections of the city entirely, but remained optimistic. 'My hope is that folks who come with an open mind just looking to discover great local music and have a wonderful time will not be let down,' he said. 'Folks looking to get the exact experience from last year might have some more bones to pick.' Ultimately, Jenkins, the arts council director, said, PorchFest diehards can be assured that the city will not get too involved in what actually happens on porches the day of the festival. 'That's the beauty of PorchFest, you know? You and your son can get out there and play ukulele. We don't care,' he said. 'What everyone loves about it is that it's decentralized. But if you're doing a decentralized festival that covers the entire city, how do you create some structure to make sure people are safe? That's what we're trying to do.' Advertisement So far this year, 175 bands have signed up. As for Guster, the band that last year helped bring record numbers to the festival, don't expect a repeat. 'We are 100,000 percent not playing PorchFest this year,' singer Ryan Miller said via text. He added that he wants 'nothing but a wonderful and safe event in Somerville.' 'As former residents,' he said, 'we're mega fans.' Guster performed during PorchFest at 12 Aberdeen Road in Somerville last year. Erin Clark/Globe Staff Spencer Buell can be reached at
