MUSIC IN THE AIR: Princeton’s porches will be the setting for a range of bands and ensembles at the Arts Council of Princeton’s Porchfest on Saturday, April 29.

By Anne Levin

With some 89 musical attractions signed up to perform on 18 porches in town, the second annual Princeton Porchfest on Saturday, April 29 is shaping up to be bigger and broader than the one that debuted last year.

But Porchfest can only grow so much. The daylong music festival was created to replace Communiversity, an annual street fair that, over its five decades, had ballooned to an event that attracted some 30,000 people to the central business district and the Princeton University campus. Porchfest is smaller and all about music, art, and the local community. Rotating sets are performed on front porches and other locations throughout the downtown.

Several genres are represented. “We have more hip-hop and R&B this year, and the Princeton Festival is doing something classical,” said Adam Welch, executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, which presents the event. “Instead of the Lewis Center on the University campus, they will be at Maclean House, which is a little bit closer to the central business district. And it’s next to Nassau Hall and the Nassau green, which was the first location of Communiversity.”

More than 100 bands applied to participate this year. “It speaks very much to the local musical crowd,” said Welch. “The musicians are volunteering to commit their time and energy and effort on a day they could have been getting a paying gig, so that’s a nice endorsement.”

There was also an increase in the number of porches offered. “We had more than 40 apply this year to be hosts, which is more than last year. These are people opening up their porches and front yards, which is a big leap of faith for them,” said Welch. “Many of them said that, after last year, we hit the right note, so to speak.”

Porchfest 2022 was especially well received because it got people outside after the worst of the pandemic. “So many people had been inside for so long, not really talking to their neighbors,” said Welch. “But we wanted to make sure to do something that was still mindful of super-spreaders. It all went really, really well, and we’re following the same plan this year.”

Keeping local businesses involved is a priority. People are encouraged to patronize local eateries for lunch, dinner, and drinks.

“We’ve reached out to [the restaurants], telling them to make sure to have things like Porchfest cookies, or something along that theme, available,” said Welch. “Last year, the theme was ‘Come for lunch, listen to music, stay for dinner.’ We especially wanted to encourage people to shop and support restaurants that were having a difficult time. The theme is the same this year, so we’re encouraging the restaurants and shops to be prepared.”

In addition to the residential porches throughout town, there will be performances in front of the Arts Council at 102 Witherspoon Street, and on Palmer Square Green. “The final gig is in front of our building at 5:15 p.m.,” said Welch. “It’s the Shakes band, the longtime Communiversity closer.”

Asked what he and his staff learned from last year’s Porchfest, Welch said staying in touch with the performers is a priority. “We did have a couple of bands that didn’t make it last year,” he said. “So, I’ve learned to be more on top of my own staff. But I was certainly to blame. I was sitting there having so much fun that I didn’t check.”

For an interactive map, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org/porchfest-map.