Porches are the hottest property in local music, as Cambridge’s Porchfest expands into new neighborhoods and Somerville’s massive event features almost 20 percent more musicians than last year.
Cambridge Porchfest
Cambridge’s inaugural Porchfest last summer featured 80 performers across 25 locations in Cambridgeport, with the Central Square Business Improvement District also hosting musicians on the second day. This year, Porchfest is taking applications for new neighborhoods for the event, to be held July 11 and 12.
On July 11, the festival expands from Cambridgeport into The Port and Riverside neighborhoods. On July 12, the Central Square Business Improvement District will be joined by Harvard Square Business Association in hosting musicians at outdoor dining and public spaces in Central and Harvard Squares. These expansions are “part of a careful and intentional growth plan that will allow Cambridge Porchfest to operate citywide by 2027,” said Jason Weeks, the executive director of the Cambridge Arts Council.
Registration for hosts, performers, and volunteers opens May 4 and closes May 31.
Somerville Porchfest
The Somerville Porchfest returns for its 15th year on May 9 with some 530 performers signed up, 100 more than in 2025, said Iaritza Menjivar, Somerville Arts Council events coordinator, who called it “a very loved event by the community.”
This year’s performers include Boston-based rock band Orbiter, Berklee alumna Ana Schon, Marshfield-based emo-punk band Baby Bowler and video score band Analog Crossing.
Somerville Porchfest operates in 2-hour blocks across three city zones: the West Zone (streets west of Willow Avenue) performs between 12–2 p.m., the Central Zone (between Willow and Central Streets) from 2–4 p.m., and the East Zone (homes east of Central Street) between 4–6 p.m. Over a dozen block parties will also take place across the city for Porchfest.
The Somerville Arts Council connected artists who are performing at neighboring addresses to coordinate staggering performance times to avoid bands playing over each other.
It also for the first time this year declined to allow homes on the corner of restricted streets to host a performance. The decision is meant to limit congestion and keep emergency arteries open.
This decision comes two years after Guster packed Aberdeen Road, bringing the estimated number of attendees to 30,000.
Although registration for performers and hosts has closed, the Somerville Arts Council is still accepting volunteer sign ups via email.
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