This year's Highland Square PorchRokr Music and Art Festival is Saturday, August 18 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. It features about 130 musicians and artists performing on about 20 porches and at Highland Square businesses.
The festival shifts each year to one of four different sections of Highland Square. This year, the main stage will be on Beck Avenue behind Fifth Third Bank.
WKSU contributor Brittany Nader has her top picks:
11 a.m.: Thieves of Joy – Ray’s Pub Patio (Porch #27)
Dan Socha and Bethany Svoboda have evolved as a singer-songwriter duo, adding guitar, bass and drums to their live performances to create a more complex, haunting and harmonious sound.
12 p.m.: Backtalk – 83 Beck Ave. (Porch #4)
Signed to local independent label Small Mammal Records, Backtalk has a nostalgic yet timeless indie-punk sound that has earned them the rightful spot as staples of Akron’s thriving DIY scene.
1 p.m.: Birthday Noose– 717 Crosby Ave. (Porch #9)
If you’re into the fuzzy, reverb-soaked sound of The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground or The Stooges, these three garage rockers are sure to put on a show you won’t soon forget.
2 p.m.: Fringe Candidate – 43 Grand Ave. (Porch #14)
Prolific Akron-based musicians Joe Dennis, Jamie Stillman, Karl Vorndran and Josh Leskanic joined forces to create an aggressive punk-rock outfit not for the faint of heart. Expect much loudness and beer spillage.
3 p.m.: CityCop – 53 Beck Ave. (Porch #3)
Described as “four dudes from Ohio who make people cry,” CityCop captures the essence of emo while striking a fine balance between the fragility of acoustic folk-punk and thrashing post-hardcore.
4 p.m.: Dream States – Main Stage (Porch #2)
Transgender activists Natalie Grace Martin and Madeline Eckhart have written and performed music together as DreamStates since December 2017, and with the recent addition of Sam Fascione to the ensemble, the result is danceable, ukulele-driven pop that serves as the perfect soundtrack to a warm August day.
5 p.m.: Posture – 53 Beck Ave. (Porch #3)
Listening to a Posture song feels a lit like prying into Eric Vaught’s journals from a very specific period of his life — that’s to say, the songs are personal, sincere, vulnerable and entirely relatable.
6 p.m.: Stems – 43 Grand Ave. (Porch #14)
Rumor has it the indie-rock four-piece will perform highly anticipated new music from their upcoming album right on singer-guitarist Justin Seeker’s porch. Visitors who stick around this porch throughout the day will also enjoy tunes from THORLA, The Beyonderers and the aforementioned Fringe Candidate.
7 p.m.: Ghost Slime – 717 Crosby Ave. (Porch #9)
While donned in classic white-sheet ghost costumes one’s mom would hastily put together for a childhood Halloween party, the trio blends humor with earnest lyrics and a pop-punk-meets-emo sound reflective of Akron’s present-day DIY scene.
Shuffle at PorchRokr
Nine bands and musicians are playing PorchRokr that have been featured on WKSU's Shuffle:
11 a.m.: Spirit of the Bear - 686 W. Market St. (Porch #1)
11 a.m.: Thieves of Joy - Ray's Pub Patio (Porch #27)
1 p.m.: White Buffalo Woman - 144 S. Portage Path (Porch #23)
2 p.m.: Floco Torres - Annabell's (Porch #16)
3 p.m.: CityCop - 53 Beck Ave. (Porch #3)
4 p.m.: The Dreemers - 720 Payne Ave. (Porch #10)
5 p.m.: Punch Drunk Tagalongs - 63 Grand Ave. (Porch #21)
6 p.m.: Relaxer - Main Stage
8 p.m.: Red Rose Panic - Main Stage
