It was a smorgasbord for the ears.
Some 161 bands or solo acts took to the porches in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood on Saturday, Aug. 15, for the annual PorchRokr.
There were 40 some venues along the residential streets ranging from lone singers on small porches to the dozen or so members of Akron’s Derbytown Chorus on a large wrap-around porch.
The acts represented some 76 different genres from the familiar, like jazz, to the slightly more obscure, like emo screamo.
One act even brought in its own couch.
The couch in the front yard of Tom and Dona Cardone’s stately home on South Rose Boulevard seemed a bit out of place.
The retired teachers are master gardeners, so the couch didn’t exactly complement the manicured lawn and carefully curated plants and flowers.
Tom said they were more than happy to accommodate the unusual request by [Redacted] a hard rock band based in Akron.
“They have couch and will travel,” he said with a laugh. “They asked ‘can we bring a couch?’ and we said sure.”
The couple has lived in the home some 46 years and this will mark the third time they have played host to a band on their porch at the free annual music festival that switches up the streets and porches every year.
“We love to be a part of this,” Tom said. We love music and we love this area. We love Highland Square.”
And Chris and Jill Jordan love being able to sit in the comfy chairs on the front porch of their home on Elmore Avenue.
Across the street and to the left an aspiring young rock band tested the limits of the speakers on the porch while to the right a bluegrass band softly sang the sorrows of days gone by.
Chris said it is great to have a front seat to it all.
“We enjoy every bit of it,” he said. “It is wonderful.”
All the music is feeding his hobby of learning to play the bass guitar, although he says he is not quite ready to perform just yet on his own front porch.
“I make noise,” Chris said. “I’ve only recently started playing. Our cats don’t like it.”
The popular event that attracts thousands of music lovers is organized by the Highland Square Neighborhood Association.
PorchRokr in Akron’s Highland Square traces its roots back to 2013 and has grown in size and attendance ever since.
Musician Megan Hood has made the trek from Sugarcreek to perform at the festival three times.
This year under the moniker of a Wreck Like Me she performed solo on a porch on Ardmore Avenue.
Hood said loves performing at the Akron festival because it is so random, from the large contingent of bicycle riders that stopped to listen, to the occasional bark from the dog being walked down the street.
“The energy performing on a porch is so different,” she said. “This community really rallies around the artists.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Highland Square residents have best seats at PorchRokr 2026 music fest
Reporting by Craig Webb, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Craig Webb, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
