Oakhurst Porchfest returns Oct. 8
Isabella Diaz reacts to the music of The Tiger Kings during Oakhurst Porchfest on Saturday, Oct. 9. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Decatur, GA — Decatur’s popular homegrown music festival will return next month.
Oakhurst Porchfest will return to an Oakhurst porch near you on Oct. 8, from noon to 7 p.m.
The event transforms porches into stages in Decatur’s Oakhurst neighborhood. The event features hundreds of performances and draws numerous spectators who wander local streets traveling from house to house.
Here’s a map showing the lineup of this year’s event:
In 2015, with the Decatur Arts Alliance’s Oakhurst Arts and Music Festival scrapped because of renovations to Harmony Park, organizer Scott Doyon said he proposed hosting a Porchfest instead.
“The premise of the event is to have what we call a day of radical generosity and goodwill,” Doyon said in a 2017 Decaturish article about the event. “We put out that any genres are welcome. Anybody that signs up, we’ll find them a place to play.”
The first Porchfests were held in Ithaca, N.Y., and the festival has been replicated dozens of times around the country.
For more information about this year’s event, click here.
Here are photos from previous Oakhurst Porchfests:
Vigil Strange performs off of Mead Rd. during the annual Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Sydney Rhame performs off of Mead Rd. during the annual Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
David Leonard performs off of Mead Rd. during the annual Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Collin Killtrick performs off Olympic Pl. during the annual Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Daniel Hearn, Brandon Rawls and Collin Killtrick perform off of Olympic Pl. during the annual Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Spackle performs during the Oakhurst Porch Fest on Sunday, October 18, 2015.
Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Metroscene performs during the Oakhurst Porchfest 2015. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
John Barnes, his daughter Iris, wife Kristin and other daughter Adeline listen to music during the Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Book Club performs during the Oakhurst Porchfest. File Photo: Jonathan Phillips
The New Replicas perform on East Lake Drive during Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo by Dean Hesse.
DJ Doc Ramadhan entertains the crowd at Harmony Park during Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Michou, Rose Lane, Kat Howell and Mali Perry on their way to the next porch concert during Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Vocalist Inez Czymbor gets a hug from Holli Morgan, 12, after her performance with Electric Idol during Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Westchester Elementary PTA set up with snacks and shirts during Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Shelby Gutenberger sings with the group Yes Ma’am during the 2019 Oakhurst Porchfest.
Americana singer/songwriter Payton Kashdan performs on a Mead Road porch during the 2019 Oakhurst Porchfest. Photo by Dean Hesse
Patrick Marlow from L’Arche Atlanta passes out free lemonade to Porchfest goers.
How and Why perform during Porchfest. File Photo by Jonathan Phillips
The Squirelheads perform during Porchfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
The Sehwe Village Percussion group beat their drums during their performance at Porcfest. Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Writer Michael Davis contributed to this story.
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