Santa Cruz’s newest music festival is coming to a porch near you

Beyond Pacific Avenue’s buskers and weekend shows at The Catalyst, a new live music venue is coming to town: your neighbor’s front porch. 

Santa Cruz’s newest music festival, Porchfest, will bring live performances to 14 porches and other locations across downtown Santa Cruz on Saturday, Oct. 3. The festival will run from noon to 6 p.m., and includes private homes as well as the entrances to the Museum of Art & History, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and Tumbleweed Found. 

Porchfest started in Ithaca, New York, in 2007, and over 250 cities have since joined the homegrown festival’s ranks. Nearby Porchfests include those in San Francisco and Modesto.

“We’re adding our little Santa Cruz hat into the ring,” said organizer Darrow Feldstein. “I just felt like it needed to happen.”

Feldstein moved to Santa Cruz to attend UCSC in 2008 and now teaches natural history there. He’s also a musician, playing shows at Moe’s Alley and The Crepe Place. During his time in Santa Cruz, he said he’s noticed a lack of spaces for emerging artists. 

“There’s not a lot of great venues for people to play, particularly for up-and-coming bands. If you’re a more recognized band, you can get a gig at Moe’s or The Catalyst or the Rio, but there’s not a ton of options for people to be playing music,” Feldstein said.

That observation led him to start an Instagram page on June 10, and he put out an open call to musicians for what was, at the time, just an idea. Now, 50 bands are scheduled to play at Porchfest, bringing new sounds to the downtown and Beach Hill neighborhoods.

“There is so much local music talent in Santa Cruz, and so many people wanting more opportunities like this to get their name out,” Feldstein said. “They’re hungry for it.”

Feldstein highlighted performers including Maxwell Apra and Andy Huynh, who will play traditional Italian and Venezuelan music, and Zirzuvi, a band that plays Sephardic Ladino music.

The Plateau Jazz Band will play at Calvary Episcopal Church, accompanied by dancers from Santa Cruz Swing.

Local musician Jack Mazza plans to play an acoustic set of old-time bluegrass and folk music, switching between banjo and guitar. He said Porchfest feels like “a missing component” of the Santa Cruz music scene. 

“There’s so many musicians here and a vibrant art scene, so it makes sense to have something that’s free and open with so much variety,” Mazza said. “It’s an opportunity for people who don’t gig out as much to play and be more low-stakes, but then also for bands that are professional or are playing more to have a more community focus.”

One of the bands performing at Porchfest is The Rumba Madre, led by David Vila Diéguez. The band plays what Vila Diéguez describes as “Latinx alternative music with a punk edge.”

Vila Diéguez was drawn to the grassroots nature of Porchfest, likening the event to “coordinated busking” that reminded him of his home in northern Spain.

“I’m used to walking out of my house and getting to the town square, and it’s packed with people. There’s going to be music. There’s going to be people playing football. If I go out anywhere here, you can’t do anything outside,” Vila Diéguez said. “If you want to play football, whatever you want to do, you have to get a permit. Everything is designed so you stay indoors.” 

Feldstein said he drew inspiration from former MAH executive director Nina Simon and her work to establish Abbott Square as a gathering space for the community.

“I have just been in love with that place as a central anchor for downtown Santa Cruz, and really inspired by her and how she worked to make that happen,” Feldstein said.

Vila Diéguez similarly emphasized the importance of forming free “third spaces” for creating and enjoying art. 

“We have to challenge this isolation that we’re kind of forced to live in,” Vila Diéguez said. “I think we should take over the streets and take over the parks, get out of our houses and share culture on the streets.”

Feldstein welcomes volunteers, who can connect with the Porchfest team online. But his main ask is that community members spread the word and come out Oct. 3 to support the musicians and downtown businesses. He also encourages everyone to walk or bike between porches. 

“In a time of loneliness epidemics, I want to make sure that people from all walks of life, all ages, can get together and enjoy music and meet each other and strike up conversations in the street,” he said. “Hopefully that leads to more civic engagement and people having pride in their community, all the while celebrating local musicians.”

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