Thursday, October 1, 2026
The PorchFest schedule can seem overwhelming to the uninitiated. It featured eight venues spread across the city, including residential homes and recognizable landmarks — from Franklin Boulevard in the east to Washington Avenue in the west, Kennedy Plaza and the Long Beach Public Library in the center and more.
More than two dozen bands played all day long, in synchronized time slots with multiple performances happening simultaneously throughout town. While the Mitch Weiss Band played blues and funk at the library, Neutral Corners played acoustic rock at the Long Beach Historical Society and Ruby J and the Jewel Tones played jazz on East Penn Street. It was a high-energy day — at one point, Funk Island Sound got out of the driveway and into the crowd during their performance.
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The Long Beach Arts Council helped to coordinate it all, drawing in more than 45 sponsors for financial support, culminating in the fourth annual PorchFest. The all-day, all-city event supported local musicians and provided free entertainment to the entire community from noon to 6:30 p.m. on May 16.
This year featured a first-time grand finale with a performance from The Dave Kellan Band. While most musicians during the day delivered 30 to 50-minute performances, the grand finale was a raucous 90-minute show, centerstage at Kennedy Plaza.
A day packed with music was the prime focus, but it was bracketed with a kickoff party the night before, at Bright Eye Beer Co., and an after-party Saturday night at the Long Beach Hotel.
