Local law enforcement agencies amassed Sunday for a “Sea of Blue” to honor fallen Memphis Police Department Officer Joseph McKinney.
Porchfest
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Dozens of bands and performers drew thousands to Cooper-Young Saturday for the fourth annual Porchfest. That’s where @HopeInTheUSA caught the photo of Grave Lurker above.
Memphis accent
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Thirteen-year-old Brooklyn-native and content creator Jazzy’s World TV tried out her Memphis accent on Moneybagg Yo. Yes, she said “junt” and “mane.” But Yo suggested she city-fy her pronunciation a bit.
The Stupid Reasons perform on a Meda Street porch at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: MIchael Donahue)
Big dogs stay on the porch at Cooper-Young Porchfest. So do the little dogs.
Bands — whether local or from out-of-town — perform on porches or in the yards of people who live or have businesses in Cooper-Young.
The annual event, which was held April 16th, is open to all bands, whether local or from out-of-town, says Amanda Yarbro-Dill, executive director of the Cooper-Young Community Association.
“The nice thing about it is it’s so egalitarian,” Yarbro-Dill says. “Bands can be some retired guys who like to play together. Or, a band you could pay a cover and go see at [Bar] DKDC.” “
Macrophonics perform at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Music lovers listen to The Stupid Reasons at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
This year’s event marked the first time I attended Cooper-Young Porchfest. And I’m so glad I did.
Bands actually performed on front porches and in yards. The weather was fabulous. The crowd wasn’t wall-to-wall people like the throng at the annual Cooper-Young Fest, which, don’t get me wrong, is also very, very fun.
In other words, it was a beautiful day to go to a festival.
I like the description of the event on the Cooper-Young website. Porchfest is “intended to be a grassroots celebration of spring, music, and Cooper-Young.”
The website also stated that the event was bringing back its annual community yard sale, which is held before the music begins.
“It’s kind of a perfect Cooper-Young day,” Yarbro-Dill says.
People can hit the yard sales in the morning, have lunch at one of the restaurants, and then listen to music all afternoon, she says. “It’s spring. It’s the best time. In April, if you can avoid the rain, it’s the best time to do anything.”
Jack Oblivian at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Madaline Collins and Gio Giannangelo at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Lee Johnson at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Brian Kwoba and Monica Miller at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Travis Bradley, Bailee Rebecca, Courtney Oliver, Rory Dale, and Jordan Nichols at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Tennessee Screamers at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Yarbro-Dill, who lives in Cooper-Young, did not have a band perform on her porch. “I wanted to be able to get out and be free and see what the day was like instead of being tied to my house.”
So, what did she think about Porchfest? “I was super pleased. It was great every year, but this year felt just super good. The thing that I noticed when I was out is everybody was just happy to be out together. I never, literally, saw anybody act like an asshole.”
Yarbro-Dill didn’t have an exact figure for how many people attended, but she got some estimates talking to people while walking around. “I would say more than 500 people.”
This was the third year to hold the festival, she says. “The first year was 2021. And that year I didn’t know what to expect as far as how many bands would sign up. So, that year we had 40 bands and 20 porches sign up. Then last year in 2022 it basically doubled in size and we had 80 bands on 40 porches. This year, it was about 100 bands on about 40 porches.”
To be a host, you have to live in Cooper-Young, Yarbro-Dill says. “So it’s from Southern to Central going one way. And East Parkway to McLean the other way.”
If you missed Cooper-Young Porchfest this year, go next year. You’ll love it.
Jon Hay, Lola, and Matt Anderson at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Lexie Lang and Cristian Nieves at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Edwin Dorsey and that newspaper guy at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jillian Lichterman, Peter Benjamin, and Greer Goodwin at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jonathan Finder and Jared Hogan at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Michael Schaefgen, LJ Harper, Lane Wade, and Robert Gallagher at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)Justin Weirich, Margo Araoz, and Lawson Day of Macrophonics at Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)We Saw You
Storms wreaked havoc for many Memphians last week. But April showers also brought a rainbow, captured by Beth Okeon (above), over the fire station Downtown. Billy Willson caught it over Madison (below) looking south from Huey’s.
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Porchfest
Posted to Facebook by Crockett Hall
Porchfest brought big crowds to Cooper-Young last Saturday to see dozens of bands play on more than 30 porches.
“Hope this counts as being on the Flyer,” wrote Crockett Hall, who played a stage close to Celtic Crossing standing atop one of our boxes. To which we’ll retort, “Crockett, hope this counts as being in the Flyer.”
Big Typo
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Reddit users pointed out the massive typo on Africa in April’s billboards that adds an extra “A” to Rwanda.
Rascal Flatts once sang of sitting on the front porch, drinking ice-cold cherry Coke, but this weekend nearly 40 front porches in Cooper-Young will be for more than those cherry Cokes — they’re going to be stages for nearly a hundred bands putting on free concerts at the third-ever Cooper-Young Porchfest.
Since the inaugural festival in the spring of 2021, Porchfest has clearly grown from the 40 bands volunteering to perform on 20 porches. Its inception is not an original idea, with more than a hundred cities holding porchfests of their own since 2007, says Amanda Yarbro-Dill, Cooper-Young Community Association’s executive director. For Memphis, though, its first Porchfest came at just the right time when freshly Covid-vaccinated people were buzzing to get out and about. “A lot of bands hadn’t really gotten back to playing a lot,” Yarbro-Dill says, “so I think there was a lot of enthusiasm because of that.” But she didn’t expect that the next year the number of volunteer bands would double and that it’d even increase for this year’s fest.
“It feels like Cooper-Young Festival Junior,” Yarbro-Dill says of the event. “But it’s an entirely music-focused day instead of an arts and crafts fest day.” The acts, each lasting around an hour, range in their genres from Americana to environmental crybaby punk. You can also catch some family-friendly drag performances, including a Disney-inspired show with Taco Belle at 3 p.m. and a show with Magical Miss Mothie & Friends at 5 p.m. Since all the performers are volunteers, tips are encouraged, with most accepting Venmo or Cash App.
Photo: Brandon Dill
“It’s like if you wanted to come and spend the whole day in Cooper-Young, you can,” Yarbro-Dill says, adding that before the fest begins, the Cooper-Young Community Association will host its annual Community Yard Sale. (Find the map for the yard sales here.) “You could start out in the morning, and go to yard sales. Go to lunch somewhere here in the neighborhood; patronize our businesses. Come by the gazebo, where we’ll be selling T-shirts and then we’ll also have the map for all the shows. Then you can go to however many shows you want.”
Following the festival, for the first time, there will also be an after-party presented by Young Avenue Sound, Memphis Whistle, and Underground Art. “They’re gonna actually shut the street down there to have a street party and have bands play,” Yarbro-Dill says. Cyrena Wages, Jombi, Joybomb, and DJ Kaz will perform.
A full lineup of the day’s events and a map can be found below and at cooperyoung.org/porchfest. Porchfest is sponsored by Memphis Made Brewing Company and Steve Womack’s State Farm Insurance Agency.
Photo: Brandon Dill
Community Yard Sale, Cooper-Young Historic District, Saturday, April 15, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., free.
