Somerville PorchFest 2018: Map, Lineup, What To Know

SOMERVILLE, MA – Have you ever sat on your porch and overheard a neighbor strumming guitar on another porch? PorchFest takes this idea and multiplies it to create a city-wide event where Somervillians share their love of playing and listening to music.

PorchFest began in 2011 and has been growing rapidly ever since. This year over 250 musical acts will be
performing on porches (and sometimes spilling into front yards and gardens) all over the city on Sunday, May 13. The event was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 12 but was postponed due to expected weather.

Genres range from gypsy punk, cosmic americana and killer blues to Afrobeat, acid folk, and American space rock. There’s even Porch-ioke where passersby can step up and belt out a tune with a band backing them up!

This year the performances will start in West Somerville and go East – the opposite direction of past
years. Acts in West Somerville perform from 12 to 2 p.m.; central Somerville bands (between Central and
Willow St.) perform from 2 to 4 p.m.; and East Somerville musicians perform from 4 to 6 p.m. This allows
music to sweep like a giant wave from west to east and festival goers can plan out their routes to hear as much
music as possible.

To see the current lineup and map go to www.somervilleartscouncil.org/porchfest. Listen to band’s music samples and plan out your day. Want to play PorchFest? Registration is still open until May 10! Visit the website for more information and to register your band.

PorchFest originated in Ithaca in 2007. When Somervillian Nancy Goodman learned about the event she
thought: Why not Somerville? She contacted the Somerville Arts Council and things were quickly set in
motion. From the get-go, responses from musicians and music-loving residents was resounding. There were 35 people at the initial planning meeting and 75 acts registered to perform for our first edition in 2011.

With questions about the festival, contact Arts Council Director, Gregory Jenkins at 617-625- 6600 ext. 2985.

Announcement submitted by city of Somerville; Image via Shutterstock