The Annual Do-It-Yourself Music Festival, “West Philly Porchfest” Returns With 350+ Free Shows on Resident’s Porches

Roots Picnic is around the corner but perhaps the coolest show in town may be in West Philly.  The annual do-it-yourself music festival, West Philly Porchfest returns on June 8th from 12 pm – 6 pm and this year guests will be able to enjoy over 350 free performances from local artists.

For those not familiar, Porchfest allows residents to use their porches to host musicians to perform. Featured artists will include musicians of various genres playing free shows on porches throughout the neighborhood. Curated by West Philadelphia residents, the festival seeks to represent and celebrate the community’s broad musical and cultural diversity.

Originally started in Ithaca, NY back in 2007, Porchfest was created “to build, deepen and celebrate connections within our culturally diverse community by creating a platform for sharing the joys of live music.”  Since its inception Porchfest has spread to over 100 cities throughout the U.S and Canada.

The West Philly Porchfest started back in 2016 by five neighborhood residents “Most of which had recently participated in the Somerville, MA Porchfest and thought it seemed like the perfect fit for West Philly (we have better porches for sure!),” organizers stated. The inaugural Porchfest included 75 acts playing shows at over 30 porches. Each year the festival has grown significantly. 2019’s Porchfest featured over 175 acts on nearly 100 porches.

So where exactly does Porchfest take place? The official boundaries of the event are the Schuylkill River and the City Line, but most past Porchfest shows were on porches within a mile of the intersection of 48th St and Baltimore Ave, in the residential neighborhoods of Cedar Park, Spruce Hill, Squirrel Hill and Walnut Hill.

For those looking to plan to attend, westphillyporchfest.com offers an interactive map that is regularly updated with locations and set times of each performance.