Alameda Porchfest Turns Porches Into Stages Sept. 12-13

Alameda Porchfest turns an ordinary residential Sunday into a citywide, free concert, and this year it's happening over two days, September 12 and 13, with a kickoff show the night before the main event.

What is Alameda Porchfest?

It's a simple idea that takes a lot of neighbors saying yes to pull off. Local residents and businesses offer up their porches, stoops, and driveways as DIY concert venues, and local bands set up right there to play. You don't buy a ticket or walk through a gate. You just wander from block to block and catch whatever's playing next, and it's free the whole way through.

When and where to go

• Saturday, September 12, 6 p.m.: A free kickoff concert at Webster Park gets things started.
• Sunday, September 13, noon to 6 p.m.: Porchfest performances take over the area around Franklin Park.

The event is put on by the Alameda Music Council. As of this writing, the full band lineup hadn't been announced yet. The festival's website says hosting details and lineup updates get posted weekly, along with the maps and schedules you'll want once the routes firm up, so it's worth checking back before the 12th.

Want to play, host, or just show up?

Bands looking for a slot can apply through the Band Submission Form on the Porchfest website. If your own porch, stoop, or driveway would make a decent stage, that same site is where you'd sign up to host one. If you're just planning to attend, there's an Eventbrite page you can RSVP to, but showing up without one works just as well since nothing here requires a ticket.

Why it's worth clearing your weekend

Porchfest only works because so many people say yes to something small: opening up a driveway for an afternoon, letting a band you've never met plug in on your front steps. Multiply that by dozens of houses and you get a full weekend of live music that costs the city nothing and runs entirely on residents pitching in. As the festival's own flyer puts it, "you know you want to be there and the price is right." If you're building out your fall calendar, take a look at our events page for more of what's coming up around Alameda this season.