Holden Stephan Roy

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The clouds took note, the sun was ready and all of NDG was primed, as crowds of west-enders walked, biked, strollered, drove and scootered to locations across NDG for Porchfest NDG 2024. More than 80 bands, duets and solo artists took to the stoops, balconies and lawns of homes across the neighborhood, while the lanes, curbs and roadways filled with folks who stopped to listen and dance to original music and covers.

Indeed, the eclectic offer of rap, blues, folk, rock, punk, jazz, alt and more, meant something for everyone and the weather cooperated. There was something magical on the first truly summery weekend listening to Linda Benoy’s folksy tunes under the wisteria, while further south local rapper Holden Stephan Roy brought his beats and infamous pickle hate to the street. If you were lucky you caught a special treat, Sarah Segal-Lazar and her fan fave If This City Were a Man. Outside Kensington Church on Sunday afternoon the Ok Chorale brought more than 40 voices together for a set of classic pop folk and rock, while up on Hingston the Sofa Kings paid wonderful tribute to the late great Gordon Lightfoot.

Every year Porchfest raises money for worthwhile local causes and this year was no different, with each venue collecting funds for Women on the Rise, a local non-profit organization that offers empowerment-based individual support, group support, and resource services to women and their families. Porchfest NDG has raised some $48,000 for local orgs since 2015. n