Updated Website Allows Hosts to Register, Review, and Connect with Potential Musical Acts
Performers Can Engage with a Community Supportive of Live, Local Music
WAKEFIELD, MASS. – Registration has opened for hosts and performers for the 3rd annual Wakefield Porchfest, which will take place on Saturday, August 29, 2026, from 12-6 p.m. The event looks to eclipse the success of the first two Wakefield Porchfests, which each drew over 100 musical acts hosted at 50-plus locations around the community.
The portal includes separate registration forms for musical acts interested in performing and for residents or small businesses interested in hosting acts, with both forms available at wakefieldporchfest.com. Registration will close on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
For hosts, the website includes a new matching capability which allows hosts to easily build their own lineup of musical acts, review registered performers, or reach out to bands. The Wakefield Porchfest Committee has posted frequently asked questions for hosts, as well as helpful tips to help hosts recruit musicians, but will also assist hosts to match them with performers.
Porchfest hosts are unpaid community volunteers who are critical to the success of the event, including:
- Coordination with the musicians ahead of the event;
- Design of the outdoor space for the performance, including identifying a space (lawn, driveway, or yard) where attendees can watch and listen safely while using the space;
- Engagement with neighbors about the event; and
- Marketing their event to friends, family, and music fans in their neighborhood and beyond.
For performers, Wakefield is a community that actively supports live, local music:
- The success of the first two Porchfests led to the creation of Next Stage Wakefield, a new non-profit launched in 2026 to support live music opportunities for musicians in the community, including Wakefield Porchfest.
- Wakefield has also been recognized 15 times as one of the “Best Communities for Music Education” in the U.S. by the NAMM Foundation, which recognizes the outstanding commitment of school districts for their “leadership in expanding equitable access to music education.”
- The town boasts a strong support network for performing arts and for emerging musicians, sustained by the Town of Wakefield, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield Music Boosters, The Wakefield Performing Arts Department, Children’s Playhouse of Wakefield, the Wakefield High School Marching Band, and other local organizations.
Wakefield Porchfest is funded in part by a grant from the Wakefield Arts Council, a local agency, which is supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Wakefield Porchfest also receives funding and in-kind support from businesses and residents across the community. Organizations interested in contributing to the 2026 event can email sponsor@wakefieldporchfest.com to learn more.
