On September fifteenth, High Street in downtown Bristol was buzzing with twenty-two different bands and tons of fans. Hundreds of music lovers of all ages crowded the closed street and stood around the porches of Bristol’s beautiful homes. Numerous genres of music rang throughout the blocks and countless dogs trotted through the crowds. Del’s frozen lemonade graced the hands of many as the temperatures were quite warm for a September evening. 

Some noteworthy bands that were brightening the streets included South Coast Brass Band which is a jazz, blues, and funk group. They attracted quite the crowd as their old world brass instruments rang through the middle of High Street. Watching them made you feel transported to the 1930’s Jazz Age. Across the street was the Mount Hope Musicians who were all students of the local highschool. The students rotated frequently as they had piano accompaniment. Their music style was consistently modern and some acoustic. The students performed their own unique covers of everything from Lady Gaga to Ed Sheran. People in the crowd around the students undoubtedly family and teachers were singing along in support at moments. 

Towards the end of the street was the most high energy porch! This porch first held The Heidi Nirk Band which performed soul, blues, and rock music. Her presence on the porch was abundant and definitely a page out of Janis Joplin’s book. Her instrumental back up was fabulous and all carried personalities of their own. Heidi Nirk’s rock and roll voice transformed the small porch into an underground Rock and Roll concert. Following Heidi was the eccentric swing jazz group called CatNip Junkies. The name was intriguing and so were their covers of both modern and old hits. What was especially fun about CatNip Junkies was their stage dancer turned singer who seemed to have encouraged the crowd to dance in duos themselves. In the street were several couples organically dancing to the New Orleans-esque tunes coming from CatNip Junkies porch. The costumes of striped pants and feathery top hats that graced the porch paired perfectly with the band’s funky stage presence. The evening closed off with the band leading hundreds of attendees down High Street with instruments and mega phones in hand.

If you did not attend the PorchFest this September perhaps you will consider tuning in next year as we are sure the energy will only grow brighter!