Photo: The Shirts and Shoes
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Somerville’s annual music festival PorchFest added some new regulations ahead of this year’s event.
PorchFest has been a city music mainstay since its inception in 2011 when, according to Somerville Arts Council Event Coordinator Iaritza Menjivar, the council was made aware of a similar event in Ithaca, New York.
Since then, the festival has only grown in popularity.
“This event started off with about 60 bands, and last year we skyrocketed to 425 bands,” Menjivar said.
This growth has led to some complications, however, as Menjivar said the sheer amount of people at last year’s Porchfest made for a dangerous environment, especially during the band Guster’s performance on Aberdeen Street.
“Somebody passed out and the ambulance couldn’t get through; that’s a big red flag,” Menjivar said. “I think that Guster coming into Somerville last year was definitely a tipping point for the event.”
The result is new regulations, which the Council said would make the event safer.
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The biggest change is a restriction on bands from performing on more than a dozen main streets to allow for better traffic flow in the area, including Highland Avenue and Summer Street.
Restricting access to these roads has led to some frustration from some artists who will not be able to perform on the porches they did in years past.
“The response has been what we expected, there are a lot of upset musicians,” she said.
Despite this mixed reception, Menjivar asks that people bear with the council as they give this new festival layout a shot, especially for the sake of the safety of those who just want to enjoy the event.
“This is something we’re trying out, work with us on this... and we’ll see how it affects the event,” she said. “Over everything, over music and over community, I think safety and people’s lives come first.”
According to Menjivar, some other new regulations being put in place this year include the creation of the Ambassador Volunteer Program & Emergency Management Teams, which will allow for more eyes on the festival as it happens, as well as the placement of more Porta Potties.
More on these new regulations, a full list of restricted streets, and general information regarding this year’s PorchFest can be found on the event webpage.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.