Lexington’s streets, or rather, porches and patios, will be occupied by bands and musicians this weekend during the town’s third annual Porchfest, a festival that debuted in Ithaca, New York in 2007, and has been spreading across the U.S. and Canada ever since.
The goal is “connecting the community to our shared humanity, in this case, through music,” said Eric Hellweg, a co-organizer of the event who will perform with his band, The Rusty Muskets. “As long as we see continued support, positive feedback, and engagement … from the Lexington community, we’ll consider it a success and keep doing it.”
The Lexington Council of the Arts and Mass Cultural Council, co-sponsors of the festival, coordinate publicity, advertising, and administration of the event.
Organizers said the festival’s first year featured 60 acts playing at about 50 houses. This year, 120 bands will jam at 65 homes around Lexington.
Macy Howarth, a Lexington resident, said she enjoyed watching the community come together at last year’s event. “Watching all the kids dancing around … people walking in on their bikes and whatnot, going house to house, it was so awesome.”
Porchfest requires months of planning, Hellweg said, but it’s worth the work. “It’s so great to see some hosts really leaning into their role – publicizing it themselves, providing food, and having open house parties that day.”
Jenna May, a Billerica resident, will perform from 2-3 p.m. at 47 Parker St. She describes her music as “journal pop,” an introspective and intimate expression that often features lyrics from her personal journal. May said her parents’ business, Crickets Flowers, drew her to town.
“Playing at the Lexington Porchfest felt like a great way to connect with the community as an artist.”
Porchfest features many genres – find everything from jazz, pop, punk, funk, and rock & roll to Korean traditional drumming, Turkish folk music, and 17th century tavern tunes. This map will help visitors navigate the festival. The event’s rain date is Sunday.
The previous two festivals have had memorable moments, according to Lisa Herbert, the event’s co-organizer. One of them, she said, was a performance by RockStar Graduates, a band of young adults whose members learned music by ear. They are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. at 22 Hudson Rd.
“We’re now placing music at downtown locations like Cary Library, Visitor Center Lawn, and Emery Park, which is exciting,” said Hellweg. ‘We’ve also secured the light pole banners downtown this month to help get the word out. In the future, we’d love to see community involvement continue to grow.”
Organizers say the purpose of Porchfest is simple, yet elegant – to bring people together.
Lexington resident Erin Wang says it’s working. “I’m always amazed by how talented the residents are,” she said. “We can walk around with the kids, seeing the neighborhood and enjoying the music and talent.”
