Crowds enjoy PorchFest '21

Nathan Havenner, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·3 min read

Jun. 13—The sound of banjos, guitars, fiddles and even a saxophone and harmonica filled the air as PorchFest made its return to Griffith Avenue on Saturday afternoon.

Beginning at 3 p.m. and stretching until the evening hours, attendees braved the 90 degree temperatures to enjoy everything from bluegrass and country to classic rock and jazzed up soul.

Ohio County High School Senior Dakota Hayden said he was sponsored by the Beaver Dam Amphitheater to play at PorchFest '21.

"I have always sang, my whole life," Hayden said just before his set. "Then I started playing guitar about six years ago and I kind of just twisted them both together."

Hayden said he enjoys playing country music and classic rock 'n' roll songs by bands like the Eagles.

Down the street a little ways at Stage B, lifelong Owensboro resident Paul Montgomery was getting his guitar and harmonica ready before his 4 p.m. set began.

"I have always wanted to play PorchFest," he said. "I just started playing out in public last year and this is a real exciting time for me to be able to play here."

Montgomery said he enjoys playing some of the classics from the 1960s and '70s by artists like Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne.

Start times were staggered to prevent too many different sounds from wafting over the tree-lined yards, Tamarra Miller, who founded the free music festival with her fiance, Andy Brasher, said previously.

This also allowed spectators more time to enjoy the performers, without having to rush up and down Griffith Avenue to take in the nearly three-dozen musical acts and several food trucks that brought the event to life.

Neighborhood resident Hunter Cobb, 12, said he was enjoying the music with his family.

"We wanted to walk, and I kind of like to dance to the music at PorchFest," he said.

Cobb said he had previously taken bluegrass guitar lessons at the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club in Owensboro.

"I did learn to play, for a whole week," Cobb said.

An artist lineup for the event includes Josh Merritt, Nick Lawson, Annabel Whitledge, Grayson Jenkins, Elliott Sublett, Nicholas Jamerson, Andy Brasher Band, Freddie Bourne, Little By Little, Alex Macke Daniel, Jess Jocoy, Tailgate, Cynthia Murray, Larry Maglinger, Rack'em Leon, Villa Mure, Sydney Layne, Clarke Sexton, Soul N The Pocket, Cam Thompson, Haleigh Martin, Paul Montgomery, Hayley Payne, Parker Hamilton, Ariel and The Highwheels, V Bombs, Kentucky Shine, The Close, Drivin' Bland, Dustin Taylor On The Rocks, Dakota Hayden, Shawn Brashear, Dustin Locke and Madeline Wilkerson.

While PorchFest was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019 edition of the music festival brought in an estimated 5,000 people.

Miller said she was expecting a good turnout for this year's installment.

"We expect a good turnout," she said. "Life is getting back to semi-normal at least."

Nathan Havenner, Messenger-Inquirer, nhavenner@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-228-2837

Nathan Havenner, Messenger-Inquirer, nhavenner@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-228-2837