Sat 8/19 @ 10:30AM-11PM
There’s nothing new about a neighborhood block party; however, as the Larchmere PorchFest has proven, conventional boundaries regarding neighbors getting together and opening their doors (or inviting musicians onto their porches) can enrich the fabric of the community while providing a memorable music experience.
Such is the case with the Highland Square’s annual PorchRokr Music and Art Festival taking place Sat 8/19 around one of Akron’s most historic and eclectic neighborhoods. The daylong affair features more than 130 performances, including festival-ending performances by Time Cat and Silent Disco on the Festival’s main stage at Will Christy Park. There will also be food trucks and vendors galore.
CoolCleveland talked to PorchRokr Music and Art Festival co-chair Katie Carver Reed about the free Rubber City affair.
Tell us about the PorchRokr Music and Art Festival.
We’ll have around 135 bands performing on porches throughout the Highland Square neighborhood in Akron. In addition, we also have food trucks, vendors and artist vendors. Really, any variety of things you’d find at a festival with a lot of different foods. PorchRokr has been going on for five years. We’ve done six PorchRokrs. One year we did two in the same year, and it was really crazy. We haven’t done that since.
What’s the impetus for the unique neighborhood event?
We used to do an event called Art in the Square where we shut down a street. It was more of a traditional art vendor sort of fair. There was a neighbor who went to Larchmere PorchFest. They approached the Highland Square Neighborhood Association saying they went to this really cool event in Cleveland and they thought think we could put our own really unique twist on it and do something like that in Akron. So we took that idea and ran with it. And it’s grown to be bigger and bigger. The first year there were around 30 bands with maybe around a couple of thousand people. Last year’s attendance was 10,000, and we anticipate this year to be up near 11,000.
Considering it’s taking place in the Highland Square area, what’s the event footprint?
The footprint is around eight blocks of Highland Square. We split the neighborhood into four different quadrants and rotate the festival every single year in a different section of Highland Square. So we’ll be using about 35 porches of the 200 houses in the footprint. This year we have Augusta Avenue closed down. That’s where our beer garden will be. Otherwise, we don’t close down the street. It happens in people’s yards and porches, so we don’t have a need to close down the street. That way people can park on the street and get through the footprint easier.
In terms of the bands, what can people expect to see and hear?
We choose a lot of different bands. It’s a lot of rock and kind of indie folk music, but also there’s hip-hop, country and even a ukulele collaborative orchestra. We have a guitar orchestra in the morning doing some Allman Brothers Band covers this year. So really if you are looking to listen to some music or find something new you may like, you can walk around the festival and find it. I’d say they are bands people may know, but, like, the Black Keys aren’t playing or something like that.
Overall, it sounds like a great way for a music lover to spend an afternoon.
Yeah, I think one of the big reasons people come out is to discover new bands. Shows are happening all of the time. Maybe you don’t have a lot of money to go out and see bands, but here you can attend this free festival, see as many different bands as you want and discover something cool and different. There are a lot of different things to really appease anybody who likes arts and culture. You’re going to find something you really enjoy, and it’s a free day to be outside in the sun on a summer day and to experience Akron as well.
PorchRokr Music and Art Festival
Akron, OH