Porch Fest is back.
It will be a day of music in Homewood and Flossmoor on Saturday, Aug. 28, when performers entertain as part of Porch Fest.
Seven homeowners have offered their porches from noon to 4 p.m. to serve as local stages for performers. Each venue will have two shows. The houses are in the Millennium Park neighborhood between Dixie Highway and Western Avenue.
Guests should bring a chair or a blanket. The programs are free, but free-will offerings are appreciated.
The lineup is:
- 18360 Dixie Highway, Homewood: Degapaw from noon to 1 p.m., Jack Bodie from 2 to 3 p.m.
- 18442 Martin Ave., Homewood: Keem Singing from 1 to 2 p.m.; and Jon McDonald Band from 3 to 4 p.m.
- 18521 Palmer Ave., Homewood: Butterfield Creek from noon to 1 p.m.; and Mad Tea from 2 to 3 p.m.
- 18522 Dixie Highway, Homewood: Matthais Gill from 1 to 2 p.m.; Dolph Chaney from 3 to 4 p.m.
- 18615 Lexington Ave., Homewood: Doug Rafferty from 1 to 2 p.m.; Danny Fox from 3 to 4 p.m.
- 802 Latimer Lane, Flossmoor: Orange from noon to 1 p.m.; and Work in Progress from 2 to 3 p.m.
- 2025 Vardon Lane, Flossmoor: James Vitale, noon to 1 p.m.; and Laabi from 2 to 3 p.m.
The first Porch Fest, an informal, distributed music festival in August 2020, was organized by Homewood residents Anne Bailey and Annie Lawrence to compensate for a summer that was otherwise robbed of live music by the pandemic.
Last year, the event included nine local musical performances on six residential porches in the neighborhood located between 183rd Street on the south and Cedar Road on the north.
This year’s event from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28, will be located at homes between 183rd Street and the Flossmoor village border and between Dixie Highway and Harwood Avenue.
One criterion for the event is to keep the porch “stages” within walking distance so audience members can stroll through the neighborhood while enjoying the music.
“The neighborhood this year is Downey Manor/South Homewood,” Lawrence said. “The roads over here curve and that makes a border street difficult to name the farther you get into the neighborhood.”
She said it might help to think of the area “between Lassen’s and the Splash Pad,” referring to two local landmarks, Lassen’s Tap at 2131 183rd St. and the water play area in Millennium Park on Harwood Avenue adjacent to Flossmoor.
The first Porch Fest was conceived and in the planning stages before the pandemic hit, but it turned out to be a good fit for music fans dealing with COVID-19 restrictions. Performances were outdoors making it easy for people to observe social distancing guidelines.
Lawrence said the organizers plan to keep Porch Fest going “for as long as the community wants it and continues to volunteer their porches, lawns, and talent.”
“Porch Fest is all about community. Homewood has always been pretty tight-knit, and we should celebrate that,” she said. “The pandemic caused a lot of isolation which makes it even more important that we can come together to heal.
“I don’t think there is anything more healing and more community-oriented than meeting on each other’s front lawns to hear our neighbors play the music they love. Music has the ability to bring us together and revive our souls.”
Program sponsors are Loulou Belle, Vicki’s, Art 4 Soul, The Villager, Artistix and Riviera Tacos.
Marilyn Thomas contributed to this story.