Sat 8/15 @ 11AM-10PM
It’s time once again for one of Northeast Ohio’s biggest local music festival, the Highland Square PorchROKR, taking place all around Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood.
It kicks off at 10am with a hour of free yoga with Yoga Squared. Bring your mat! Then the music starts at 11am and it keeps going, and going, and going. Each hourly time slot through 6pm features 20 bands on an assortment of area spaces, for a total of nearly 200 acts.
And they are a diverse lot. There are lots singer/songwriters, and pop and rock bands, of course. But there is also jazz, instrumental surf, R&B, funk, hip hop, Americana, Irish music, bluegrass, oral tradition folk, rockabilly, garage rock, electronica, jam, prog, “silly punk,” and more. Some of the bands have a name and reputation in the area: the high-energy Time Cat; all-women alt pop band the Crones, fronted by legendary Unit 5 vocalist Tracy Thomas; powerful soul singer Esther Fitz; hip hop ensemble Red Rose Panic; glam rocker Dennis Van Crash; psycho-ska trombone trash rockers Massive Hotdog Recall; soaring songstress Rachel Roberts; indie poppers By Light We Loom. But many you’ve probably never heard of. And that’s the beauty of PorchRokr. Wander around and find a new favorite.
Then at 7:30 all the focus converses on one main stage where NE Ohio blues/jazz/pop group Rent for Cheryl performs a closing set.
All of that should keep you busy, but there are also dozens of arts and maker vendors, booths hosted by local organizations and businesses (warning: there will be animal rescue groups onsite! Beware of cute kittens!) There’s a kids’ zone playground, the Yellow Brick Road Ice Cream Alley with exclusively ice cream vendors, and a karaoke stage if you think you can do better than the bands. And with almost four dozen food trucks and tents, you’d almost think this was a food festival. And that’s in addition to the many eateries surrounding Highland Square.
There’s no admission charge; just come down and spend the day.