Why your attendance at “The Other Porch Fest” is so Important
By now you may have heard of the 2nd annual “Porch Fest” taking place in historical Springfield this weekend. If not, it’s a huge festival taking place on Saturday from Noon until 5 PM in the Springfield Neighborhood of Jacksonville. Boasting an attendance estimate of up to 5000 attendees last year they expect this year to be even larger! The festival is intended to introduce people to the revitalized Springfield and the growth of the neighborhood as a whole, using music to draw people there. The Festival stretches from 2nd to 6th Street between Laura and Silver Street.
So what is “The Other Porch Fest”? The Other Porch Fest in a collective of musicians and poets that live in and around the Springfield area that wanted to represent the Urban Music Community that they feel is consistently left out of “Major” Jacksonville Festivals. After approaching the organizers about urban arts be included in the festival and being denied, ILL Clinton decided that being a prominent member of the community and living in the heart of Springfield that he would open up his porch and throw an event to include the genre he feels is left out far too often. His event Starts at 2:30 and goes until 10 PM.
So why is important for you to come out to the Other Porch Fest Tomorrow? Besides the awesome line up of Poets, Emcees, DJ’S and Dance Performers showing up, there also is going to be food, drinks, games, a Hookah Lounge and good wholesome fun to be had….but that’s NOT the important part. This is more than just another awesome party or a chance for you to come out to support your favorite band. This is a statement about Urban Art and Culture that is consistently misrepresented and unsupported by large market festivals.
Your attendance, even if you can only drop in for an hour, represents the support of the Urban Culture that organizers feel isn’t there. The goal is to show the major event organizers that Urban Music can draw just as many people as other “Non Urban” arts. Local Artists like Mal Jones and Mas Appeal have been doing Urban Street Festivals, like the Lyricist Live and Summer Time in the City, for years with no major backing and still were able to draw large attendance records at each of these events and always without incident.
We have a plethora of talented Urban Artists in Jacksonville that deserve to be included in large scale events. This is our way of showing these organizers what they are missing from their shows. IN NO WAY ARE WE SAYING NOT TO SUPPORT PORCHFEST. Let me make that point Loud and Clear. We want you to come and support the other bands playing at Porch Fest. This is not a pissing match to debate which music genre is better. This is simply about expressing our concerns about Urban Music being included in Major Events…as it should be.
Show up and support your local Urban Music Scene at The Other Porch Fest this Saturday. Food and Drinks will be Free while they last. You can help them last longer by donating below! We look forward to seeing everyone at the Other Porch Fest on Saturday.