Potsdam’s debut Porch Music Festival connects local musicians with community – North Country Public Radio

Sep 06, 2020 — Most of the North Country’s summer concert festivals were canceled this year due to the coronavirus. That’s been hard on performers and music lovers alike. To help fill the void, the St. Lawrence County Arts Council organized a PorchFest on Saturday in downtown Potsdam.

Constatine Darie, right, plays the cello alongside his mom, Alisa, sister and cello teacher during the Potsdam Porch Music Festival. Source: Julia Ritchey, NCPR

Residents along Potsam’s Chestnut and Lawrence Avenues loaned their front porches to musicians on Saturday afternoon to play outside, as residents strolled along the sidewalk soaking in the free performances.

JuliaPotsdam’s Porch Music Festival connects local musicians with community

Maggie McKenna, executive director of the St. Lawrence County Arts Council, said they got the idea for it from Ithaca, which hosts an annual porch music event. 

The Carriage House Quartet played contemporary music covers like Ed Sheeran and Aerosmith during the Porch Music Festival. Source: Julia Ritchey, NCPR

She said with their normal concert series canceled due to coronavirus, this seemed like the next best option.

“This year it didn’t really make sense for us to do the Ives Park series because of social distancing,” she said, among other factors. “So we decied to do something that was still musical and still community-based, but a little bit different.”

Mckenna, who performs in the Carriage House Quartet, says experiencing live music is what she misses most right now. 

“Music is my community, and my community is music. So I’m really, really missing it more than anything at this point,” she said. 

A few houses down from McKenna’s quartet, Alisa Darie and her two children, Constantine and Celeste, played cellos alongside their music teacher. 

Constatine, who’s 13, lamented that it had been much harder for him to learn piano and cello through online lessons this summer, and missed the camaraderie of practicing with people in a class setting.

Alisa Darie said the festival was a nice way to cap off what would’ve otherwise been a very quiet summer for musicians.  

“Oh, it’s wonderful because music will save the world, and we need to play music. So this is a way to do it with social distancing,” said Darie. 

Community members gather outside for the impromptu porch concerts. Source: Julia Ritchey, NCPR

A jazz set during the Porch Music Festival. Source: Julia Ritchey, NCPR