“Porchfest” may be an unfamiliar word here in Memphis, but it’s an idea that’s been catching on across the country for over a decade. Begun in Ithaca, NY, in 2007, the idea is a simple one: Ask homeowners in a neighborhood to offer their front porches as stages for musicians; then listeners can go from porch to porch to hear them play, creating a low-cost music festival of the most intimate kind.
People have been playing on porches around here forever, of course, including the occasional shows hosted by Robert Jethro Wyatt, co-founder of Black & Wyatt Records. But this Saturday, the concept will be ramping up considerably, as the Cooper-Young Community Association (CYCA) launches their first-ever such event, Porchfest 2021, on Saturday, April 17th, from noon to 6pm.
Speaking with Amanda Yarbro-Dill, executive director of the CYCA, I learned a few things about this groundbreaking approach to live music which, oddly enough, was being discussed even before COVID-19 descended upon us.
Memphis Flyer: Was organizing Porchfest 2021 a logistical jigsaw?
Amanda Yarbro-Dill: Yes, it was. Everyone’s been really responsive, but figuring out the timing of the shows has been tricky. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. So I guess it was easier than I thought it might be.
How did it come about? It’s such an innovative idea.
Last February, pre-pandemic, we had a resident who’s a musician come to us and say, ‘Hey, I played a porchfest in Philadelphia, I think Cooper-Young would be the perfect place to have one. What does the community association think about helping me with this?’ And we all thought it was a great idea. So I started doing research. But then COVID happened and we couldn’t do anything. This year, I started talking to people about the level of risk involved, as far as COVID, and we decided it’s something we can do safely.
The first porchfest was in Ithaca, NY, in the 90s, and it’s a model they’ve done in tons of different cities. If you go to the website you can see links to thirty, forty, fifty of varying sizes. But I think they’re all like ours, where it’s just a volunteer operation. Bands volunteer to play, porches volunteer to host them. And some group organizes the whole thing.
It began long before the pandemic, then.
Right! And then it suits this moment we’re in fairly well, where we’ve come to a point where many people have been vaccinated and anything outside is inherently safer than anything inside. So it makes a lot of sense to us.
What safety precautions or protocols are in place?
We’re asking that everyone please follow the CDC protocols. I would love to go out on Saturday and see a majority of people wearing masks. We all know now that’s a show of respect to everyone else. Because who knows what my vaccination status is? We don’t know for sure what can or can’t be transmitted, so I think we’re going to need to stay with this model of wearing masks. And that’s the messaging I’m putting out: social distance as much as you can, wear a mask as much as you can. Be respectful to all these volunteers who are making it happen.
Was it hard to find porches?
No, that’s kind of the crazy thing. When I first started talking about this with my husband, I said, ‘I will be happy if we have six bands play.’ I had a very low threshold. I didn’t know what the response was going to be at all. And I’m in a Facebook group, and invited people and bands that I knew to join, and I think in the first week we had ten porches signed up. In the end, we had more porches than we needed.
Porches will have rotating bands?
Some have only one performer, but most have at least two. With some of the porches, basically it’s the house of the musician, and they were like, ‘Okay, I’m going to book my whole porch for the whole day.’ They just took it upon themselves to do that.
What else has the CYCA done? Will there be transportation?
I would suggest to just park in Cooper-Young and walk around. It would also be a great thing to ride your bike to. And we do have custom made signs that will be in every host’s yard. We’re hoping people come and then go to neighborhood businesses, go get take out or eat at a restaurant. Go to Memphis Made. They’re our only sponsor. Buy beer from them!