Dozens of bands to play front porches for Powderhorn PorchFest in Minneapolis

The sounds of a Cajun band blasted from the front porch as a crowd of hundreds packed the yards and street of a residential Minneapolis neighborhood. That scene took place at a unique music festival held last September.

"People were holding hands and swinging around their neighbors or people who live down the block, who they may never have met, just laughing hysterically," remembered festival co-organizer Niky Duxbury.

On Saturday, 24 bands from Minneapolis and one from St. Paul will again haul banjos, fiddles and amps to the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis and set up on front porches for a festival appropriately called Powderhorn PorchFest.

The music festival takes place on the 3200 and 3300 blocks of 17th Avenue in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis. It's the third year the event has been held, and it keeps growing. This year, bands will play on five porches spread across the two city blocks, both of which will be closed to cars.

Duxbury said the idea came about two years ago when she and co-organizer Aaron Blum were talking about how there were few venues where people could see neighborhood bands for free.

"Why aren't all of our very talented musician friends and singer songwriters playing out more and getting more exposure and getting listened to?" Blum said. "A lot of them were just playing their music online, which is a great forum for exposure, but we wanted to bring it to the community, we wanted to bring it to the street."

They wanted an unpretentious festival that wasn't sequestered in a bar or big commercial venue. South Minneapolis' huge stock of front porches fit the bill.

"There's something traditional and old about gathering on a porch in somebody's yard, and playing music," Duxbury said.

"It's an invitation into somebody's home and space," Blum added.

Bands this year will be playing styles including Cajun, folk, hip-hop, old-timey and cumbia, which organizers said was meant to represent the diversity of the neighborhood.

"I just think it's beautiful. Not just for the music's sake, but for the community's sake too, to have more opportunities for people to hang out and use the streets in different ways and come together."

Steven Hobert is a musician who lives in the nearby Corcoran neighborhood. He's performed at both previous PorchFests, but last year did a solo, improvised piano set that Duxbury said left the audience with a "rapt captivated look."

Hobert said he wasn't sure what to expect when he played such an unconventional set at an outdoor festival.

"People were very attentive and seemed to be really into it," Hobert said. "It was actually a really beautiful experience, one of the more memorable concerts I've played the whole year."

As a resident, Hobert said he'd love to see more events like PorchFest.

"I just think it's beautiful," Hobert said. "Not just for the music's sake, but for the community's sake too, to have more opportunities for people to hang out and use the streets in different ways and come together."

Becky Timm, executive director of the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association, said this particular neighborhood is packed with creative sorts who Mayday Parade and a 24-hour bike race called the Powderhorn 24, or the art sled rally held in a nearby park every winter.

"It's one of those grassroots things -- the creativity that just bubbled up with some neighbors that just like music and creativity," Timm said. "The whole neighborhood is just an incubator for good ideas and people willing to try it, then it takes on a life of its own."

Although Powderhorn PorchFest is a music festival, the organizers say it's not just about music. It's also about the connections formed between neighbors and musicians after a long night of square dancing and hip-hop.

"I love creating an event and a space where people can get together and meet their neighbors, and it's free -- and also see really great music," Duxbury said. "It absolutely warms my heart to provide that to the community we live in."

Powderhorn PorchFest takes place on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 4 to 10 p.m. at the intersection of 17th Avenue South and 32nd Street in Minneapolis.