Few things are more thrilling than watching a talented musician set up in an intimate space and play for the people just a few feet away. With the help of a few instruments, a small crowd and maybe one or two band members, porch concerts create a close connection within communities.
Attendees will be able to enjoy a new pilot porch concert at this year’s Piccolo Spoleto festival, set for 7 p.m. May 24. Organizers hope the concert will be a hit and return as a multi-part series in future festivals.
Performers volunteered their spaces and are choosing the music that will be played.
Rochelle Riley, director of the Office of Cultural Affairs, said after seeing porch concerts performed by huge musicians such as Snoop Dogg and Jill Scott, she thought “we should try that.”
“We want people to experience music, Piccolo and joy everywhere,” Riley said. “The best way to do that is to find smaller things so that everything is not a big downtown or arena thing, or something that’s just on the peninsula. They could be everywhere.”
On porch this season
Guitarist Layton Meacham will present the pilot concert, a soul and reggae set, during the May 24 event at the Cannon Street Arts Center promenade.
The Office of Cultural Affairs is presenting Meacham as a pilot to entice residents across the entire city to consider hosting porch concerts.
The concert format is not new and has become more popular as superstars Jill Scott and Snoop Dogg have done them.
Riley said the concert is designed to feel personal and spontaneous.
“Porches aren’t just found in the South, but they are an essential part of Southern living,” she said. “They represent Southern hospitality, the living room before the living room, a place for connection.”
The concert will be posted on Eventbrite, a platform where users can search for concerts and register for events. This is designed to keep the crowds relatively small, with up to 30 people allowed at the porch concert. Registration is required, and interested attendees are encouraged to sign up early.
With the porch concert being a pilot event, Riley said she hoped to bring the series back for future festivals. Going forward, she would like to do an open call for performers and have porch concerts all over the city.
Riley emphasized the theme for this year’s Piccolo Spoleto festival is “from here,” with the motto being “lean into local.” This is meant to encourage people to enjoy the artistry, tradition and history of people in Charleston through an experience that can only be found in Charleston.
With porch concerts designed to bring communities together through different genres of music, this year’s theme will blend into that atmosphere easily. Each performer this year is local to the Charleston area.
“You want everybody to see and hear people who are brilliant, who are right here,” Riley said.
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Registration is required. It will open two days before the event at piccolospoleto.com.
Madelyn Taylor is an arts journalism and communications graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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