The sixth annual Historic Athens Porchfest, presented by Café Racer, took place Sunday October 20th, featuring 209 performances on porches across 7 historic neighborhoods in Athens. The one-day community festival lasted from 1-7pm and included music from a variety of genres as well as performances from music theater, dance and comedy troupes.
Porchfest began in 2019 with 70 bands across 4 neighborhoods: Boulevard, Newtown, Buena Vista and Pulaski Heights. It was expanded to Cobbham and Normaltown in 2020 and last year Reese-Hancock was added, rounding out the festival to cover 7 historic neighborhoods across Athens.
In order to manage larger crowds and limited street parking, Historic Athens added free trolley rides to this year’s event, courtesy of Athens Trolley Tours. The trolleys offered rides via a hop-on hop-off service connecting the various neighborhoods to make it easier to get from show to show. A vendor’s market, sponsored by Indie South, was another fun addition to the festivities, setting up shop in the former parking lot of Heirloom.
Historic Athens invites participants to keep the momentum going by signing up for a Historic Athens membership. With community support, they can continue to “make an impact through preservation, education and advocacy. Together, we can protect and celebrate the unique character of Athens, Georgia.”
Porchfest continues to be one of highlights of the year, forging community bonds and celebrating the best of what Athens has to offer.
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Nicholas Mallis and the Borealis, and the Pink Flamingo of Athens
Alexzundra Tillman / WUGA
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Nicholas Mallis and the Borealis and the Pink Flamingo of Athens perform on Nacoochee Ave in Boulevard
Alexzundra Tillman / WUGA
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A scary mannequin guards the band Dog Person's merch table during their Historic Athens Porchfest concert in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood
Daniel McDonald / WUGA
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Brown Dwarf plays to a crowd of people during Historic Athens Porchfest on Cleveland Street in the Newtown neighborhood.
Daniel McDonald / WUGA
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The band Dog Person plays outside a house in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood during Historic Athens Porchfest
WUGA
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Vision Video performing a killer set on Savannah Ave in Newtown
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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Vision Video performing a killer set on Savannah Ave in Newtown
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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Caroline Aiken with Trina Meade and Michael Wegner at Gwen O’Looney's home in Boulevard
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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Caroline Aiken with Trina Meade and Michael Wegner at Gwen O’Looney's home in Boulevard
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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The crowd at T. Hardy Morris' set on Boulevard
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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Historic Athens Porchfest 2024
WUGA
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Noise Mountain performing along N. Milledge Ave. in the Cobbham neighborhood
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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Indie South offered $5 screen printed t-shirts for the event, with all proceeds going directly to hurricane relief efforts
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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Athens Trolley Tours provided free hop-on hop-off rides across all seven neighborhoods
Lara Dua-Swartz / WUGA
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The band It's Complicated, part of Nuçi's Space's Camp Amped show in Cobbham
Ed James
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The Southern Door Snakes, part of Nuçi's Space's Camp Amped show on Hill St. in Cobbham
Ed James
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The Southern Door Snakes, part of Nuçi's Space's Camp Amped show on Hill St. in Cobbham
Ed James
