After being infused with a little local sponsor money, this year’s second annual Tacoma Porchfest was upgraded from a scrappy upstart to a legit neighborhood banger complete with official street closures and more than enough porta potties to go around. It was a relaxed, well-organized affair that hit that sweet spot of being a block party representative of the neighborhood while also showing the simmerings of a destination-worthy event.
Porchfest took over the streets of central Tacoma, between Sixth Avenue to South Sprague Avenue and South 12th to South Cedar, a middle- to upper-middle-class area of central Tacoma full of homes with idyllic porches and just the type of vibe that would charm a disenchanted Seattle dweller into a move south.
One of the festival’s smartest choices was to divide itself in half—music happened 1-3 pm on one side of the neighborhood and then 3-6 pm on the other—to minimize neighborhood impact. Of course, not all the neighbors are on board, but their passive-aggressive “drive super slowly and honk” approach through the festival’s streets only added to the crotchety cool Tacoma-ness.
Saturday’s attendees were gifted with a gray and muggy day as neighbors, locals, and a few Seattle drifters bounced between porches featuring different splashes of local musical flavor. Drunkish new-grunge bands bled into earnest balladeers that bled into dad punk as listeners strolled, biked, skated, and rolled by. Sometimes performers were spaced out by cross streets, sometimes only a few steps separated artists, resulting in a slightly disorienting sound bath.
Seattle band Salt Lick and their brand of self-described “indiepsychegazemo” drew the first big crowd of the day. Their new record, The Gift of Missing, just dropped on July 28 titled. They played tracks off that and their other two releases and wisely threw in a Sabbath cover for good measure. Teen MC J-Lew rapped over his own DJ (and occasionally, unintentionally, the two-piece garage band on a porch across the street). But the improvisation only added to the performance. Local Radio station KTQA set up in the yard next to the one where I had set up a home base and sweet classics like Sniff ‘n’ the Tears’ “Driver’s Seat” blessed the ears of many infants in strollers for the first time.
Saturday wasn’t just about music—some neighbors embraced the opportunity to sell goods. Vending ranged from old-school yard sales and kid-run lemonade stands to teens hawking La Croix and candy to make-shift ice cream trucks to sexy vintage clothing pop-ups tucked inside garages.
The community parade, with its make-shift anyone-can-join band and fire-breathing dragon, propelled everyone towards a graciously donated church parking lot complete with a DJ booth and food vendor hub featuring Dowd’s, Hobo’s, Turger Burgers, Eagle Amigos Tacos, and Cookie Dough Bliss. The Eagle Amigos’ carnitas was well seasoned and tender—it’s definitely worth seeking out their truck if you’re ever in T-town.
The square also featured a first-aid tent staffed with mountain rescue workers where a handsome, vastly overqualified ranger pulled a splinter out of my palm—I got it while stroking the curve of a very ornate chair someone had put up to rummage. Tacoma folks were so generous and friendly I had also acquired a small mushroom cap about an hour before and was feeling pretty tactile. Much like my experience with Foxy McRanger, Tacoma Porchfest is the perfect event if you enjoy things safe, welcoming, community-oriented, and just slightly trippy.