PorchFest Somerville 2023 will take place on Sat. May 13th (RD the 14th)
We will continue with the structure of staring in the West zone at noon and ending East at 6 p.m.
Registration is now open. See below for registration. Deadline to register is Monday, May 8th.
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As a reminder, the Arts Council does not provide match making, bands should be performing on their own porches or porches of invited hosts. You should not register to "find" a place or host. If you submit and there is no address, it will be deleted. It is the responsibility of the host (or the band) to ensure you are being neighborly and respectful by informing neighbors of your intent to perform. You are performing on your own private property not public streets or sidewalks.
Similar to prior years, to ensure guests can move orderly through the city and view the music, porches located West (west of Willow) will perform during the slot from 12-2; Central (from Willow to Central) from 2-4; East (east of Central) from 4-6. If you are performing for a shorter duration in that time slot, use the "time" field to qualify that specific time.
Prior to registering please review this PorchFest guide to performers/hosts.
New participant notes:
1. In order to register you must sign up for a user account first. Do that here. (or always at the footer of our site)
2. Once you receive a confirmation that your user account has been approved, you will login as a user (or always at the footer of our website.
3. After you have logged in Register for PorchFest here. You must put in a location (address) and zone for it to appear on the map. Your registration will appear on the 2023 map page. (We are currently having problems with Google Maps so don't despair.) This is a Somerville based event. not a band listing site. You must secure a performance "porch" location first to registered. Additions made without address or address outside of Somerville will be deleted.
4. You can always go back to your band listing and make edits. Again, login, click on your band posting, click edit up top, edit, and be sure to hit save at the bottom.
Returning bands notes:
1. Attempt to use your old user account. If you have forgotten the password or even your prior user name go to user login here (or always at the footer of our site) and request to reset via the email address you used in setting up your account.
2. Login with your user account and follow items 3-4 above. Do not revise your prior year page, this will override that year. Create a new page, with the new year, by "Register for Porchfest."
We are moving back to our traditional approach with bands performing on local porches, while guests move through the city. This event is a decentralized effort among bands, neighborhoods, and community---this is not a festival per se. The intent is to showcase Somerville's musical talent.
Audience:
As bands begin to register, go to the 2023 PorchFest map for update to band participation.
Please respect neighboring property; NO public drinking; stay on sidewalks, not in roadway. We strive for this to be a family friendly event, please help us keep it that way.
**If you are in need of a public restroom we have placed portajohns around the city of public property. Use them; find them here. **
In late April we will announce a charity for this year's PorchFest in addition to encouraging you to support the local bands participating; see their own ways to support them on their pages. And on the day of fill those tip jars.
Special Thanks to Kirk Isreal and Moses Blumenstiel for their combined web work on Porchfest.
In 2011, the Council created a decentralized music festival--Porchfest. Perhaps you’ve sat on your porch and overheard a neighbor strumming guitar on another porch? Porchfest takes this idea and multiplies it. This is not a festival per se but rather a community event where Somervillians share their love of playing and listening to music. Think of Somerville Open Studios, which is for visual artists, but for music.