We won’t have Soundside Music Festival this September, but we will have East Rock Porchfest. In its first year, the grassroots music fest, spanning seven hourlong time slots across 22 locations this Saturday, boasts a classic festival poster brimming with dozens of acts, plus a map of neighborhood porches and yards where you can catch a free show from any of them.
You could, with total validity, simply walk around on Saturday and see what you hear. Or you could make some choices ahead of time. If I were you, here’s the course—with room for spontaneity—I would chart:
11 a.m.
Part of the fun of a music festival is the chance to stumble onto acts you otherwise wouldn’t—or in this case, couldn’t, since some performers, especially in the festival’s earliest time slot, don’t have a web presence. Choosing just one in this context feels a little like closing my eyes and throwing a dart at the map, except my eyes are open, and my hand is aiming for 735 Orange Street. That’s where a show by North Haven Jazz Machine, promising good chemistry between “longtime friends and collaborators” Nigel Regan (saxophone) and Ben Papsun (piano), seems like a good way to ease into a long day of live music.
12 p.m.
One hour in, and it’s already a tough choice: between Up on the Downbeat, bringing their “unique blend of jazz, R&B, old-school funk and gospel” to 204 Bishop Street, and Sean O’Reilly, a charismatic pianist/harpist/singer-songwriter bringing his “earthy storytelling[,]… baroque instrumentation and dramatic vocal delivery” to 82 Bishop. The two acts happen to be performing one block apart, so, now that I think about it, the choice is easy: both.
1 p.m.
At 75 Nash Street, weird and wonderful WAXX’D, a band whose one-word summary, “mathrock,” doesn’t do justice to the personality and feeling of their (yes) technical instrumental rock music, is my hands-down pick for this time slot. But there’s a hands-up pick, too, who’s also both expressive and controlled: pro flutist Aimee Toner, set to perform around the corner at 79 Lawrence.
2 p.m.
At 1050 State Street, you can’t go wrong with Ian Biggs, one of the city’s most polished and seasoned singer-songwriters, whose work as one half of the pop duo Whatever We Are has garnered millions of streams. But you also can’t go wrong back at 82 Bishop, where Xavier Serrano, whose sublime bardsmanship first blew me away at a random open mic, will be taking the porch.
3 p.m.
If you caught Ian Biggs, you can stay put for Dani Battat, who plays keyboard and backup-sings for Eggy, a locally yoked, nationally touring jam band also blessed with millions of streams. Battat, whose first name is pronounced like “Donny,” will be joined by three of his friends, including Eggy bandmate Jake Brownstein. But you might also walk the two or three blocks to 62 Lawrence Street, where another pair of prodigiously talented bandmates, Doron Monk Flake and Ari Sadowitz, are set to perform as Model Decoy. “Grounded firmly in rock with a heavy pour of R&B, the duo occupies a sonic space between Stevie Wonder and Soundgarden” (with “nerdtastic” lyrics).
4 p.m.
Back at 75 Nash—and starting off-cycle, at 4:20—are The Most, a rare art rock band with a horn section. But, to my ear, The Most offer an even rarer combo: aural delight with zero technical compromise. On-cycle, back at 1050 State, are indie alt-rockers The Tines, whose music is both lush and stark and feels full of possibility, like an open road or distant mountains.
5 p.m.
The final stop of the day couldn’t be clearer, since there’s exactly one: ’70s-inspired rock band Modern Refuge, who’ve earned pride of place (also at 1050 State) by doing the rest of us the favor of putting Porchfest together. My favorite song, “Wave Empire,” feels cozy and cool like Fleetwood Mac, with high-key guitar and synth textures adding something extra special. Another favorite, “Rope,” starts like a showdown and ends like the villain might’ve won.
Of course, showing up, not down, is the winning move come Saturday.
Written by Dan Mims. Image, featuring Modern Refuge, sourced from modernrefugeband.com.
