Somerville PorchFest

Every year, I look forward to Somerville PorchFest. To me, it signifies that winter is finally over, spring has arrived - and summer is just around the corner. The event is a grand release for the community to take to the streets and come together to enjoy and celebrate local music performed on porches across the city. It's a festive day, where it's entirely possible for you to hear a wide array of music — rock, reggae, bag pipes, bluegrass and more —  in the same neighborhood.

Typically, the city of Somerville is divided into three sections, and music is scheduled in time blocks for corresponding neighborhoods. In my experience, not all porches adhere to this, with some choosing to host music all day long! Theoretically, PorchFest is organized so that you can cover every neighborhood in Somerville and enjoy music all along the way, meeting old friends and making new ones as you go. I've tested this out in past years and attempted to visit as many porches as possible, while choosing in other years to select just one or two porches to camp out at for the whole day. One year, I even hosted music on my own front porch and enjoyed hundreds of people from the community rocking out in my front yard and all the way down the street.

Somerville PorchFest traditionally takes place the second weekend of May and it's a wonderful way to experience Somerville neighborhoods and residents at their finest. Don't miss it!