PorchFest is the Type of Event We Need More of in Connecticut

Black Rock Porchfest was held over the weekend, so was Wethersfield, and Milford and Guilford are planning their own 'PorchFest 2024' events over the next few weeks. Have you heard of these events? I think they're wonderful, and we need more of them.

Connecticut's live music scene has suffered greatly over the past 20 years, and it's so much worse since the beginning of 2020. The majority of the smaller bars that allowed open mics disappeared or swallowed up by a corporate entity. Where are the proving grounds for local bands in 2024? Make Music Day was the first local musician community event to catch my attention over the past couple of years, and now this past weekend Black Rock PorchFest 2024 garnered a lot of media attention along the shoreline.

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What is the PorchFest concept? It all started in Itaca, New York in 2007 when a group of musicians partnered up with Itaca's civic organizations to keep their local music scene alive by presenting a series of free, local, live performances on the front porch of residents that had volunteered the use of their lawn and yard. The original event in 2007 started with around 20 bands and has grown to over 100, according to wikipedia.com. A few cities in Connecticut have held their own PorchFest events in recent years.

There are a few PorchFest events happening soon, with more next year? Guilford PorchFest happens next Saturday, September 7, Hartford and West Hartford's West End PorchFest takes place on Sunday, September 15 from 1-6PM. Milford PorchFest will happen on Saturday, September 28 from Noon to 6PM.