Carmen Macri
Words by Carmen Macri
Jacksonville’s one-of-a-kind festival returns for its 10th anniversary, bringing live music, art and local vendors to the historic porches of Springfield Nov. 9.
For some backstory; Elizabeth Augustus, a San Marco resident, attended her first porch festival while visiting upstate New York, the origin of Porch Festival, a little over 10 years ago. Inspired by the experience, she brought the idea back to Jacksonville and proposed it for Springfield.
“So they were all sitting around a kitchen table and she pitched the idea of doing a PorchFest.’ You have these beautiful porches and it would be a great way to showcase the neighborhood,” Michael Haskins, executive director of Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR), shared. “The original purpose was to do just that. They wanted to bring people into the neighborhood to show people who might have incorrect perceptions about Springfield and what a beautiful, wonderful neighborhood it is. And having musicians play on porches seemed like a great way to combine the organic creativity that happens a lot in Springfield.”
But PorchFest is more than just a free festival on people’s doorsteps — it leaves a lasting impact on the neighborhood. In the weeks leading up to the event, homeowners often spruce up their properties, and the city addresses issues like potholes, sidewalk cracks and overgrown trees. This one-day festival brings lasting improvements, enhancing the neighborhood’s quality of life.
“We [SPAR] work with the city of Jacksonville ahead of PorchFest to make sure all the sidewalks have no cracks in them that would be tripping hazards and overhanging branches from trees are trimmed back,” Haskins shared. “The types of things that will not only make the festival successful but also contribute to a higher quality of life in the neighborhood.”
As a nonprofit, hosting a free event poses financial challenges, and PorchFest relies heavily on sponsorships and volunteers. Fortunately, the city is just as invested in the event’s success as SPAR. Since its inception, Porchfest has seen exponential growth — from around 5,000 attendees at the first event to an estimated 25,000 this year with nearly 200 volunteers.
“We’re committed to being a free music festival so guests don’t pay. We have free parking. We have a free shuttle from the parking to the festival,” Haskins explained. “The only money that you will spend will be on food trucks, our arts and crafts market and beverages — if you want to buy beverages —which we of course encourage because that helps support the event. But the event itself is free. And that’s because we want it to be accessible to the community at large”
Another unique aspect of Jacksonville PorchFest is its commitment to paying all performers, nearly all of whom are local, regardless of the circumstances. Many bands offer to play for free, whether for exposure or simply out of love for the festival, but SPAR is steadfast in ensuring every artist is compensated fairly. Even with the student groups that perform during the event — money gets funneled back into the programs.
“We recognize that being an artist is not always easy, and we want to provide paid performance opportunities and create sustainability for those artists,” Haskins shared.
The lineup features artists across the popularity spectrum, from well-known names like J & The Causeways, Future Joy and Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise, to underground acts like Glazed and Lucid Lind. While past PorchFests leaned toward traditional rock and country, organizers expanded the genres this year to appeal to a broader audience, bringing in a rich mix of diverse artists.
A cool behind-the-scenes detail is how they choose the porches for performances. While similar festivals usually stick to three or four porch stages, Jacksonville PorchFest ramps it up with 18 to 20, creating a fully immersive experience. And the selection process is no small task — plenty of residents volunteer their homes, so they’re never short on options.
“You’re trying to align bands to porches, right? And so the size of the porch is a factor because if you have a large band, you need a large porch. We also think a lot about sound interference. How? Because we don’t like dead air. Right?” Haskins explained. “We want to have music happening throughout the festival. And so we have different parts of the festival footprint being activated at different times. To ensure that there’s always something happening within the festival footprint because we want to encourage people to explore the neighborhood”
For more information on PorchFest, including a line-up of performances, visit jacksonvilleporchfest.org.
Follow FOLIO!