Porchfest is bringing more live music of all kinds back to downtown Highlands for its fourth year Sunday, Sept. 15, with what Center for Life Enrichment Interim Director Audra Bullard said will be more bands and venues than any previous year.
“There are more musicians, more venues,” Bullard said. “So we’re growing. It’s really exciting.”
There will be 45 musicians or bands and 15 venues around downtown Highlands that will all have music playing.
“There’s artists from every genre,” Bullard said. “Singer-songwriter, country, Latin pop – that one’s new for us this year. Rock, alternative, everything. You name it.”
As always, the event is free for anyone to come and enjoy. Like in past years, there will be two or three different bands or artists playing at every venue throughout the day, rotating every few hours so there’s always some type of music going no matter what. Bullard said that it would be a good thing for local businesses since many of the venues are restaurants – and even the ones not participating will likely get attention from people in good spirits, walking the town streets.
Bullard said the event is a “good way to kick off fall” and would keep things festive as the seasonal population dies down as some people go elsewhere for the winter. Because many of the bands have other gigs on Fridays and Saturdays, she said having Porchfest on a Sunday is a perfect way to get as many of them as possible to play the event.
High Dive daytime general manager Spencer Williams said the event was a good one because of the way it allows artists and bands to rotate between various stages all around town. He said it might introduce people to new bands they hadn’t known about before.
“All the bands get exposure,” Williams said. “They travel around and are seen by different parts of the population here. The people who don’t make it off Main will get to see what kind of music we have here.”
He said they were expecting a big turnout like last year and said the High Dive would set up its music stage on the outside patio area as it had in previous years. “There’s more seating – it’s really nice.”
As it’s Bullard’s first time running the event as interim director, she said she couldn’t have done it alone. She thanked several collaborators including volunteer director Mary Cavaioli, along with Claudia Barnett, both of whom are on the Board of Directors for CLE. She said they were “integral” to the event running right.
More than anything, she said she thought Porchfest was a way to bring people together with music – which she thought was a unifying force despite whatever social divisions might occur among people.
“I think music is just so important,” she said. “It brings people together, no matter what your different beliefs might be. Most people love music. We can put aside our differences for one afternoon.”
The participating venues for this year’s Porchfest include Kelsey Hutchinson Park, Stubborn Bull, Ugly Dog, High Dive, Town Square, The Bascom, Highlands Wine Shoppe, Highlands Smokehouse, First Presbyterian Church, Mountain Life, Art Highlands Gallery, High Country Wine & Provisions, Park on Main, Sotheby’s on Main and Highlander Mountain House.