Somerville (and the Greater Somerville diaspora) came out in droves on Saturday for Porchfest. The one-day, outdoor event featured a record-breaking number of artists, more than 500, scheduled to perform. The sky is the limit to the popularity of this fest, and it was the sky – or rather, the rain – that had final say.
Forecasts predicting continuous rainfall proved incorrect. Despite some preemptive cancellations among the more cautious performers, the weather turned out cloudy but otherwise dry for the bulk of the first two blocks of music, from noon to 2 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. Musicians set up camp in doorways, front yards, parking spaces, garages, balconies and, of course, porches.
In the West Zone, which stretched from Alewife Brook Parkway to Willow Avenue, artists attracted the early birds in the first block. Matt Carbonello & the Red Carpet Band greeted locals and visitors as they stepped out of the Davis T, cooking up a mix of bluesy ’60s- and ’70s-influenced rock, with at least one Jimi Hendrix cover.
On Howard Street, the lead singer of The Ghost Truckers lamented a lack of practice on one particular song: “What happens when you play a song that you don’t play very often, sometimes you forget who is supposed to take the solo.”
Along Cameron Avenue, a band called Swamp Thong wished the crowd an early “Happy Mother’s Day!”
And from beneath an eave next to Lou Ann David Park on Broadway, the Good Trouble Brass Band got the audience moving with danceable agitprop.
In front of Magnificent Muffin & Bagel at Teele Square, more than a dozen police officers were poised for action and in good spirits. While their police radios chattered in the background, they traded jokes and told stories. Starting last year, the city ruled certain streets off limits to Porchfest acts. The decision reduced the overall footprint of the festival, preserving certain thoroughfares for auto traffic while increasing congestion within the pedestrian zones. Whether that’s a logistics win for Somerville is not clear.
In the Central Zone, which stretched from Willow Avenue to Central Street, audiences and artists enjoyed another relatively dry block of music from 2 to 4 p.m. Novel sights and sounds percolated in and out of the dense warren of residential streets between Davis and Union squares.
In a backyard along Highland Avenue, Evan Greer struck up an old Italian antifascist tune to the delight of garden party revelers.
At Windsor Street, an indie rock band named Honana sang an ode to muffins.
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Proud parents wait for the performance of the Craigie Street Crew. (Photo: Michael Gutierrez) -
The Craigie Street Crew struggles to stay focused. (Photo: Michael Gutierrez) -
A mix of emotions with the Craigie Street Crew. (Photo: Michael Gutierrez)
On Craigie Street, the Craigie Street Crew, a chorus of toddlers, were led by a very patient music conductor through a song about loving the Earth.
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Matt Kelly from Quantum Moon. (Photo: Carson Paradis) -
Matt Kelly from Quantum Moon. (Photo: Carson Paradis) -
Group of top balcony Porchfest-goers enjoying Central Zone. (Photo: Carson Paradis)
And hidden away on Holyoke Road, a quiet lane off Elm Street, neighbors had assembled a potluck smorgasbord to turn a day of outdoor music into a full-fledged block party.
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People gathering in line for port-a-potty use. (Photo: Michael Gutierrez) -
Beer cans overflow into the street during Somerville Porchfest. (Photo: Carson Paradis) -
A potluck buffet on Holyoke Road. (Photo: Michael Gutierrez)
With the enjoyment of food and drink comes an inevitable consequence and human need. As Somerville’s Porchfest has grown, so has the need for available public restrooms. The projected uptick in port-a-johns for this year’s event was almost as eagerly anticipated as the music itself. The Somerville Art Council posted an online toilet map that received more than 430,000 views. Despite the latest efforts, sources report the port-a-john lines remained long, especially in high-traffic areas, sometimes stretching more than half a block.
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Intense partier in the Central Zone of Somerville Porchfest. (Photo: Carson Paradis)
The East Zone, running from Central Street as far as Sullivan Square, suffered the brunt of wet weather. The clouds, overhead most of the day, turned stormy.
Even as the Red Sox called off its evening game, pockets of music continued to resonate throughout Somerville during the final 4 to 6 p.m. slot. If you were lucky, you had the protection of a porch overhead. The next best option was a good solid tent: Indie rockers such as literally/nobody, Cape Crush and Scrivener all found temporary, if imperfect, reprieve from the rain beneath the yawning swatches of synthetic fabrics and performed to crowds of brightly colored umbrellas and rain slickers.
It was a mutual pact of dampness, forged between the musicians and audience that had made it so far, and were committed to seeing the day through to its finish. On one of Somerville’s most jubilant days of the year, what’s a little extra moisture between music lovers?
In the words of Willoughby Street’s Ruby Grove: “Worth it.”
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