This festival has stolen my heart. Off it went, with a twang and holler and a STOMP. Bluegrass, jazz, folk, all being played on a beautiful sunny Sunday on bucolic porches that felt miles away from anything else in this city because we were, after all, on Govenors Island.
I brought a blanket and went from porch to porch, tent to tent, tree to free, and lazed about in the sun while I was serenaded with sound from far away places that hit so close to home. Each "stage" had a program of similarly themed musicians. You can check out the Porch Stomp 2019 playlist on Spotify- the whole thing is filled with gems. And I think most of the artists are local to the area, I was so surprised and happy to hear multiple musicians talk about venues they play in so I can get my fiddle fix.
A couple of favorites were Olivia and the Significant Others, and Cait & The Critters.
At the end anyone who could be corralled met for one big jam. All us maladjusted New Yorker's sat on the grass and sang This Land is your Land together and yeah, it's hippy hullaboo but it's also timely and it felt right. Come out next time. read more