Gimme Hendrix performs a live set at Athens Porchfest. Gimme Hendrix is a Jimi Hendrix tribute band based out of Athens. (Photo/Gray Barbee)
This Sunday in Athens seven different historic neighborhoods will be hosting the fifth annual Porchfest music festival. The event will feature over 200 local performers and will take place from noon to 8 p.m. Attendance is free.
The event is run by Historic Athens, a non-profit working to celebrate and conserve community heritage in Athens for over 55 years. Porchfest has gained steady popularity since its inception in 2019 with last year’s concerts drawing over 13,000 people.
The festival began in 2019 with 67 porches and 69 performers. Since a virtual celebration in 2020 the event’s popularity has skyrocketed as it has become one of the Athens communities’ favorite festivites. In 2022 “Travel and Leisure” ranked Porchfest weekend in Athens a top 12 October travel destination in the world.
Being the biggest Athens music festival to date, Historic Athens have linked a spreadsheet to their website detailing the name, address, neighborhood, time and genre of each artist to enable individuals to plan their afternoon accordingly.
One addition making this year’s Porchfest larger than last is the addition of the Reese-Hancock neighborhood as a venue, which has served as a key educational center for the local Black community since the 1860’s. The traditional neighborhood venues of Boulevard, Buena Vista Heights, Cobbham, Newton, Normaltown and Pulaski Heights will also be open to the public.
Among other local performers, Nuci’s Space’s Camp Amped will open up the event at noon at 738 Cobb St and Winterville Mayor Dodd Ferrelle’s band will close at 7 p.m. at 650 Pulaski St. The event will be sponsored by Cafe Racer Coffee and Donuts.
Why I Wrote the Story:
Athens Porchfest 2023 was a pleasure to cover. It was a great opportunity to get out in the community and give some local musicians an opportunity at a larger platform. I learned that it is harder than I thought to come up with a caption on the spot for social media.