Porchfest Takes to the Airwaves

Since its inception in Ithaca in 2007, Porchfest has been a community concert on porches with the audience congregating in the streets. Cortland started its own Porchfest in 2016 and the program has gotten stronger every year.

But gathering a large number of people together in the middle of a pandemic is not the best idea and would probably violate local and state ordinances. Molly Andrejko, Porchfest organizer, certainly realized that.

“When it became clear that live, in-person gatherings were out of the question, the decision was easy to team up with local radio station X101 Always Classic and music production company American Vintage Productions (AVP) to create a new and exciting alternative. If the people can’t come to Porchfest then we’ll bring Porchfest to the people,” she noted in a recent interview. “We’ve developed an exciting alternative; to provide our community with the best possible radio/virtual production of our phenomenal local talent.”

Chris Merkley, founder of AVP was quickly on board. 

“The original plan was to have local artists submit one to two songs to be considered for inclusion in a radio broadcast. AVP offered to provide live streaming services to create the opportunity for additional performers to join in the virtual event,” explained Merkley. “Our AV Live streaming series has grown over the last 3 months and we’re now streaming from Studio AV at Rose Hall. We realized that we should take advantage of this new capability and support Porchfest. So we’re going to livestream the second hour of the program with around 10 performers.” 

Andrejko commented “It’s a dream team! We’re all working hard to make sure that PorchFest Cortland can remain an exciting, inclusive and fun event that showcases the best of what our musical community offers.”

X101 station owner Mike Eves is excited.

“With no live bands in the neighborhood we can all tune in ~together~ to hear a once-in-a-lifetime radio show with all your favorite local acts! Hour One is presented commercial-free by Creamy Lobster Records. Hour Two is presented commercial-free by The Dan & Rose McNeil Foundation. We thank those sponsors for supporting the local music scene,” he said.

Radio Porchfest is Sunday, Aug. 16 from 3-5 p.m. Tune in to 101.5 FM, online at wxhc.com, the X101 app, TuneIn, or with Amazon Alexa to hear the full 2-hour audio program. Visit the American Vintage Productions page here or the AVP Facebook page here to watch the live performances. Live video will also be simulcast on the pages for Rose Hall, X101 Always Classic, and PorchFest.

“We can’t wait to see all of our neighbors near and far enjoying the radio show!” concluded Andrejko.

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