Hey, there! Log in / Register
As JP gears up for its second Porchfest, Roslindale gets ready for its first
By adamg on Thu, 07/02/2015 - 11:31am
Organizers of the Jamaica Plain Porchfest on July 11 say more than 100 bands will perform on porches and in yards across the neighborhood, between noon and 6 p.m. In addition to musicians, spaces will be set aside for storytelling, dramatic readings and circus performers - including unicyclists.
Meanwhile, the Roslindale Arts Alliance is putting together the first Roslindale Porch Fest, on Sept. 12.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Correction:
Rozzie Porch Fest is September 12
September 11 is a Friday
Are you sure that's when they are having it?
Nope, see above
The tragic consequences of being unable to type numbers strikes again. Fixed.
has anyone hosted?
Our house is close to rozzie village and we have a long-ish private driveway / uncluttered garage and decent backyard - was thinking of offering up our "porch" for performers. Can any porch providers comment? Worth doing? Fun?
JP Porchfest
For some reason, just the thought of JP Porchfest makes me want to recreate the scene from Animal House when John Belushi attends a wild toga party and comes upon a sensitive minstrel serenading some coeds with an guitar on a staircase, grabs the guitar and violently smashes it, hands it back to the minstrel and offers an insincere "Sorry."
Just kidding, Porchfest is fun!
??
Considering that JP and Rozzie are right next door, its sometimes it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, and both of these events are fairly new, why not combine both porchfest events into one big weekend porchfest? Seems like working together and having more stuff going on (and for Rozzie, maybe piggybacking in JP's hipness a little) benefits everyone. Does nobody in this city believe in working together?
Close, but not "stroll down the street" close
There's a few miles between the 'centers' of Roz and JP, and especially with the construction going on at Forest Hills, it's not necessarily a enjoyable walk.
In any case, when it comes to events like these, made up of many sub-events, I would rather have two accessible and reasonably-sized fests several months apart, than one big one. Same goes for other annual events like Open Studios.
Having one in each neighborhood at a very different date increases the chance that people will take the opportunity to explore a bit farther afield, rather than just go to the perfomances nearest their home.
(I imagine it also makes them much more managable for the volunteers organizing them).
Another reason two events are better than one
It may give some bands the opportunity to perform twice -- once at each event.
Rozzie hipsters
Overheard while chauffeuring a car-load of 'tweens to yoga: "The difference between JP and Roslindale is that the hipsters in Rozzie are older." In my experience the weather in early September is very often spectacular and this is a week before JP Open Studios so no competition there.
JP & Rozzie hipsters
JP Hipsters= Gretchen & Elliott from Breaking Bad
Rozzie Hipsters= Janice and Ritchie from The Sopranos
More homegrown music events & Porchfests are great for Boston
But I hope they make it welcoming to not just the folk crowd but also the rock/DIY/punk/Hassle folks. There's a lot of interesting & experimental music being made (yes in Roslindale) these days. I look forward to hosting in my backyard!