Porches all over the city will be coming alive with the sound of music as PorchFest 2015 hits the boards.

By Josie Grove

This Saturday, May 16, hundreds of Somerville musicians will take to their front porches, yards, and driveways for the fifth installment of the Somerville Arts Council’s PorchFest. “It’s similar to Somerville Open Studios,” said Greg Jenkins, director of the Somerville Arts Council. “It’s a day of the year for musicians to promote their own work.”

The SAC provides the infrastructure for the program, with an online sign-up tool for artists, and taking care of the permitting process with the Somerville police. Anyone who wants to play PorchFest has only to sign up online. Over 120 musicians have to participate this year. “It’s kind of amazing, how many bands there are,” said Jenkins.

The Somerville Arts Council creates the structure for PorchFest, but Jenkins describes the event as decentralized and community-driven.

The idea for the festival originated with a Somerville resident, Nancy Goodwin. “I saw an event in Ithaca on a friend’s Facebook page. It sounded fun and I thought it could work here,” Goodwin said. “We have so many musicians, and so many porches in Somerville, so let’s do it. I sent Greg [Jenkins] an email. It was just serendipity that he responded and was willing to take it on.” Jenkins said the idea fit well within the work of the SAC. “We take on stuff to get the creative community out into the larger world.”

Anyone can participate as a musician by signing up online. There are no auditions, promoters, booking agents, or gatekeepers of any kind. Goodwin appreciates the individuality of the performances, and the do-it-yourself nature of PorchFest. “It’s just whatever works for the particular performer and the particular house.”

“It’s a great thing,” Jenkins said. “Usually, it’s on their own porch, or on the porch of a friend.” The participating porches span Somerville, from Clarendon Hill to East Somerville. “I don’t think you can see all of it,” he said.

Those who want to make a plan can take a look at the PorchFest website and online map, while more go-with-the-flow types can follow Jenkins’ lead: “Usually, I just get on a bike and cruise around and check people out.”

The music moves from east to west across the city through the afternoon. Musicians in East Somerville start at noon, central Somerville acts play at 2:00 p.m., and bands in the west go on at 4:00 p.m.

“There are more and more bands coming on board, which is lovely,” said Jenkins, noting particular growth in the eastern part of Somerville. There is variety in the sounds too. Nancy Goodwin loves the atmosphere. “I love the diversity of the music, there’s just everything you could think of. I love riding my bike around and hearing music. If you hear something, you can ride over and check it out. I’ve discovered a couple bands that way.” Goodwin is in good company: attendance has increased since PorchFest’s first year in Somerville. “The first year, I went around on my own, but now I have a lot of friends who want to go and make a day of it.”

By Jenkins’s count, there are over 120 bands playing everything from rock covers to jazz to world music. “It all depends on what you’re looking for.” Here are three bands he is looking forward to seeing next weekend:

Sheboom are a group of (self-described) postmenopausal women Brazilian-style drummers. Sheboom are alumnae of Grooversity, Somerville’s Brazilian drumming school. “They’re characters!” said Jenkins.

Jon Bernhardt plays punk and new wave classics on the theremin. What is a theremin? “It’s an old-time electronic instrument that picks up resonations in your hands.”

Forró Zabumbeca uses fiddles, eight button-accordions, and “one large triangle” to play forró, the traditional music of northeast Brazil, and their original forró-inspired compositions.

See the map and list of all the PorchFest bands here:

http://somervilleartscouncil.org/porchfest/map/2015