Community collided with creativity at the 10th annual Porchella, the free concert series hosted in Grand Junction’s historic downtown neighborhood. Hundreds of people flooded the streets to watch over 20 musical acts throughout the evening of Oct. 4.

This quirky event brought downtown residents together, with performances on the beautiful porches of homes in the downtown neighborhood by local bands looking to reach new audiences. Fans strolled from house to house all afternoon and ended the evening on the steps of the Lowell School building.

Hosted by Grand Junction Creates, Porchella is a family-friendly afternoon advertised as an event that “brings the community together through the power of live music.”

CMU Associate Professor of Psychology Kevin Kelley was the bassist in last year’s headlining band Big Dominguez. This year’s headliner at the Lowell School Building was Wowzers.

Kelley saidd that Big Dominguez decided to take this year off, so he soaked up the crisp fall day and watched some new local talent take center porch. 

“People want a vibrant life, and Grand Junction has it for them,” Kelley said. 

Kelley is a downtown resident, and said that events like Porchella make living in the heart of town even better.

Kelley noted that he was in the audience watching the performance of CMU alum Izzy Burns, who performed at this year’s event. 

He noted that he never had her in class, but had seen her perform at a school function, and when her name was listed on the Porchella lineup, he jumped at the opportunity to see her play again.

Burns graduated from the music department last fall, and has taken her folk-pop mood on tour across America, as well as to all major streaming platforms. Her Porchella debut had by far the largest crowd amongst all porch performances that evening.

CMU was represented more than once with the Guitar Ensemble filling a porch at 5 p.m. on Seventh St., headed by Lecturer of Music Eric Nohe. This event gives students who are new to performing in public a low stakes environment to develop their skills.

Eyes of Glass, out of Palisade, Colorado, was eager to jump on the opportunity after they attended last year, said the band’s drummer Chuck Short. He said the process to apply was pretty easy, but he wished the decision-making process was a bit faster so bands could commit to gigs if they weren’t selected.

They filled the streets with classic rock covers like “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers and “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown. Lead singer Caitlin Lumpkin belted out the classics while fans on the lawn sang along. Kids played, couples danced and there was plenty of head-bobbing to go around.

The owner of the porch, Mary Muniga, said it was her first time hosting for Porchella and she met Eyes of Glass initially when Short came to check out space about a month prior. To help build on that sense of community, she hosted a potluck in her backyard for her neighbors and the band members prior to the performance.

“The longer I live downtown, the more I love it. The more of a sense of community I have,” Muniga said. 

Many people walked or rode their bikes to meander between performances. At times, the streets were completely blocked by pedestrians enjoying the music. Downtown resident Sarah Nguyen said that this year’s crowd was probably the largest she’d ever seen. 

Nguyen believes events like Porchella are exactly what the community needs when the world seems so polarized and chronically online.

“I tell everybody that this is like the best weekend in Grand Junction every year,” Nguyen said. “If you’re going to come to Grand Junction, come this weekend.”