You don't need a scientific survey to know that most Mt. Airy residents delight in their friendly, neighborly, diverse and inclusive community, qualities that make it the perfect setting for the third annual Mt. Airy Porchfest scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14.
The music festival will be 1 to 7 p.m., rain or shine, filling the streets with songs from Cresheim Valley Road to Johnson Street and from Wissahickon to Stenton Avenues.
Founded in 2022 by local residents Tim Osborne and Lynda O’Leary, the festival showcases musicians and artists who perform on front porches that have been transformed into concert stages. Since the first festival two years ago, the event continues to grow and showcases a diverse collection of talent.
“PorchFest is a community-oriented and directed event, where residents use their porches to host musicians, using their porches as venues,” said Osborne, a therapist and social worker who performs as musician Tim Oz when he’s playing guitar, bass and a little sax. “And as a result, it ends up being a music festival where people can go out their door and, most importantly, spend time in the community in a quality manner where they’re connecting over things.”
The festival hosted “hundreds of people last year,” O’Leary said in an earlier interview, “but it’s hard to quantify exactly how many people because people dip in and out.”
All genres of music, all levels of experience and all types of musical acts are welcome as long as they are suitable for the general public, according to the founders. Musicians are asked to moderate the volume out of respect for other performers and sleeping babies. Each musical act gets a maximum of 60 minutes to perform so that one act does not dominate the block.
This is an entirely free event, and no one is being charged for anything, although musicians are welcome to put out a tip jar. The organizers also accept donations since all costs for the event are being covered by the organizers. All donations will go to pay for flyers, posters, shirts and the website for Porchfest.
About 100 musicians are expected to perform on about 50 porches throughout the neighborhood. Residents can walk from performance to performance or bring a garden chair and sit down for a mini-concert. Some local participating businesses that will be hosting music include Zsa's Ice Cream, High Point Cafe and Tired Hands Brewery.
“We are asking all porch hosts to provide performers with electrical outlets, bathroom access, water, securing of pets and a safe and welcoming environment in the front of their home,” Osborne said.
One of the most active porches will be at 808 W. Sedgwick St. Starting at noon, Yoni & Friends will perform feel-good original songs; at 12:45 p.m., Elliot Garland, one of the area's top bass players, will share his original compositions; starting at 1:25 p.m., the all-female percussion band, Batala Philly, will bring the toe-tapping samba/reggae sounds of El Salvador and Brazil and at 2:05 p.m., the duo known as Gorgeous Porch will display its catchy, emotive, devotional originals with drums, keyboard, guitar and vocals. Next up at 2:50 p.m. is Som Bacana, a five-piece band led by Fernanda Bravo, a vocalist from Rio de Janeiro; then at 4 p.m.comes Pobres Vecinos, Philly's newest indie Latin band and at 4:45 p.m., Funky Bloco, an 11-piece Brazilian band, rips it up. Closing out the evening, starting at 5:25 p.m., Unidos da Filadelfia, a rowdy samba percussion troupe, will lay down the infectious rhythms of Brazilian Carnaval. There will also be a food truck by Mole Poblano featuring the traditional foods of Puebla, Mexico, all gluten-free with vegan and vegetarian options.
The first Porchfest, in 2007, was inspired by some outdoor ukulele playing in Ithaca, New York, and a conversation between neighbors Gretchen Hildreth and Lesley Greene. They came up with the idea for it that day and gathered 20 bands to make it happen in September of that year. Gradually other cities copied the idea, and now there are more than 125 Porchfests across North America.
For a map of porch locations, visit mtairyporchfest.com. For more information or to ask about performing, email mtairyporchfest@gmail.com. You can volunteer at volunteermtairyporchfest@gmail.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.
