Where?

We are actively meeting to discuss WHEN and WHERE to have Porchfest next year in 2026.

Please drop us a line if you have recommendations of a neighborhood where we can move back to the porches of Sebastopol OR if you think we should keep the joy in Ives Park next year.

Please consider donating to Porchfest Sebastopol this Giving Tuesday to help keep FREE music in the community possible.

Congratulations

Come out and celebrate the Winners of the Northbay Music Awards at HopMonk Sebastopol.

Thursday, December 4th
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Congratulations to all the winners but especially to these Porchfest acts!

Ellie James – Best Female Solo Artist, Best Indie Band, Best Songwriter
Flowstone – Best Americana Band AND Most Northbay Vibe
Marshall House Project – Best Funk Band
LaiddBackZach – Best Hip Hop
945 Band – Best Rock Band
Sophia Kandler – Best Lead Vocals
Open Mic With Ceni – Best Open Mic Venue

Good news for local music lovers and Porchfest supporters:
This Sunday Nov 23rd at 6:00PM we’ll open the Abbey up to THREE Porchfest bands.

  1. Lady Bloom (Americana) – Lauren Norgeot and Deena Cahill mesmerized the 2025 PF crowd on the Campanella Stage.
  2. Pasaflora (Soul, R&B) – killed it at 2024 PF on the Clam Bar stage.
  3. Sakoyana  (Jazz, funk) – from ’24 and ’25 PF, come back from Santa Cruz for another stellar Abbey stage show.

Ticketed show $20 (+ fee), Doors at 6pm and Lady Bloom begin at 7 PM.
Come out and support your local musicians!

   

Five artists will kick off PorchFest this year promptly at Noon.

Julia Hunt - Campanella Stage

Bohemium Highway - KB Properties Stage by Chimera

Matty Tucker - Solful Stage

Gradina - Taste West County Stage

Revolve - The Judd Patio Stage by School of Rock

We have schedule boards and a mobile schedule so you can keep track of all the artists and stages throughout the day. Have fun. Stay safe. Be kind. Make friends.

A model attendee..

Whatever you bring, pack it out too. Leave no trace. This is our park, in our neighborhood.
Bring your own beer cup if you drink beer.
Use the port-a-potties (really!)
Respect the park, follow the normal park rules.
Bring a folding chair if you like to sit.
Visit the food trucks and wine garden.

Check out the SebArts gallery! There’s a fiber arts exhibit there right now that blew me away! They’re doing a terrific job there and more people should know about them.

Visit local businesses on your way in/out!  We are members of the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce and there are many different businesses you’d sure like to support.

Porchfest by MusicWire

Sebastopol’s Porchfest Grows Into “Hardly” Porchfest

By Dee Gee, Punmaster MusicWire

A Porch With Seven Doors

In Sebastopol, California, the porches got too small. What started as a quaint idea—neighbors opening up their stoops for musicians and passersby—outgrew itself overnight. Last year’s inaugural Porchfest on High Street was supposed to be an intimate neighborhood stroll. Instead, it became a full-on block party that quadrupled expectations, with fiddles and guitars competing against traffic, kids, dogs, and the occasional PG&E truck. The event was so alive, it scared the infrastructure.

So this year, the porches are moving into the park. On Saturday, September 13th, “Hardly” Porchfest takes over Ives Park and the Sebastopol Center for the Arts with 40 bands, seven “porchlet” stages, and a whole lot more room for the music to breathe. Think of it as Sebastopol’s own folk remedy: a way to keep the neighborly spirit while turning the volume up to community scale.

Porchfest has always thrived on its homegrown angle. This isn’t a festival with tour buses and barricades—it’s the bands you’ve heard in backyards, at farmers markets, at HopMonk open mics, and in that funky tasting room on Main Street. Some are debuting for the first time; others are old hands at turning a three-chord song into a singalong.

And leave it to Sebastopol to add a little quirk. This year’s program promises a “musical mushroom” installation—fungi wired with sensors that create tones and rhythms when touched. Only in this town could you grab a glass of kombucha, tap a chanterelle, and find yourself in a jam session.

Free In The Afternoon, Flowing Into The Night

From noon to six, the park will be alive with every flavor—folk harmonies, reggae grooves, blues growlers, jazz heads, indie dreamers, and plenty of bands that don’t fit into any neat label. Then, as the daylight winds down, the party shifts indoors to SebArts.

The after-hours lineup is a statement of Porchfest’s future: Ellie James, a rising local pop artist who cut her teeth at last year’s event, shares the stage with Flowstone, a jam band whose sets often stretch into the stratosphere. A $10 donation is suggested, but true to the Porchfest spirit, no one will be turned away.

A Local Spin on a National Phenomenon

Porchfests have sprouted everywhere—from Napa to San Rafael to New England towns that inspired the whole movement back in 2007. But Sebastopol’s version has its own DNA. It’s a mash-up of small-town hippie roots and a serious commitment to showcasing artists who don’t always get stage time at ticketed clubs. The “Hardly” in the name is a wink at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco, but the intent is all Sebastopol: keep it free, keep it fun, and keep it real.

Looking Ahead

Organizer Greg “Ceni” Ceniceroz, who has hosted nearly 400 open mics in town, says the long game is still to bring Porchfest back to the porches—with a little more prep and community dialogue. Until then, the park is home, and Sebastopol has itself a new September tradition: seven porches, no fences, and a whole lot of music for the price of showing up.

So grab a blanket, grab your neighbors, and get ready to hear Sebastopol the way it was meant to sound: one porchlet at a time.

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The music at "Hardly" PorchFest this year is going to be supported by several local food, wine, and beer merchants.

We have Reggae Rasta Styles serving great Jamaican food and Lucha Sabina offering Oaxaca street food. And to cool you off, we have Kona Ice.

Back for a second year is our friends Old Caz who have donated some of their micro-brews. And joining us this year for the first time is Taste West County who have been so kind to provide us with West County wines Purple Pachyderm, Joseph Jewel, Dutton Estate, and Pellegrini.

While you're enjoying the great music, please take the time to taste some of what our food and beverage partners and volunteers are serving in the south parking lot at the Sebastopol Center for The Arts.

 

"Hardly" PorchFest
September 13th - Noon to 6 PM
Ives Park and Sebastopol Center for The Arts.