(gentle guitar music) - [Cret] It's a great event.

It's bringing people together in such a way that we just don't get together anymore.

Man, do we need that more than ever.

♪ I supposed I should have noticed ♪ ♪ I had a reason, I had a purpose ♪ ♪ But it wasn't what I made it out to be ♪ ♪ I suppose I should have noticed ♪ ♪ I have a habit of being impulsive ♪ - You know when you feel it, right?

That (blowing), that, you know, ineffable thing of human connection, very powerful.

♪ Taking me out for a joyride ♪ - Porchella started in 2020 during COVID.

We were sitting out on the porch all of the time, and nobody was allowed to go anywhere, and everybody's feeling really cooped up and antsy.

And I saw this on the internet that in Richmond, they had done a Porchella.

And I said, "Oh, that doesn't look super complicated.

We could do that here," having no idea how many people were gonna participate.

But we got about 12 people that signed up and some of the bigger Norfolk artists like Skye Zentz and Ann Gray, they went out and played, and they had such a good time.

We just loved it so much, and the musicians loved it, and the neighborhood loved it.

We had some great feedback from everybody of just how much they enjoyed the event.

So we just wanted to keep it going.

(upbeat banjo music) This is actually the first year that I had people ask me if I was gonna do Porchella again so they could plan their holiday around it, and that was very, very cool.

And that was really what made me wanna go bigger.

However many musicians we get, we can find a porch for you to play on.

So this year about doubles what we had last year with 50 musicians and 50 porch hosts spread out all over Norfolk.

- When I found out about it, I was really, really excited.

I signed up for it.

I was like, "I'll play on my own porch."

And I had no idea how many people are gonna come out, and I was all nerves.

And I opened my front door like ready to come out, and it was crazy.

I couldn't believe how many people turned out, and it's just, like, that kind of community gathering is so important.

That made a big impact on me, actually.

(audience applauds) (mellow upbeat music) - [Christina] There are all kinds of different music this year, which is awesome.

I was really excited about having multiple different kinds of musicians.

So we have, you know, your normal acoustic and then rock bands, punk rock, hip-hop, R&B, some funk, some soul, psychedelic rock, EDM, a couple different DJs.

(energetic dance music) It's my favorite night of the whole year.

It's so much fun.

It's just the sweetest, most wholesome night.

Everybody's just happy.

They've all got their Christmas spirit stuff still.

- [Skye] Christina, who organizes it, does such a beautiful job.

- It's definitely a labor of love.

So I make a Facebook event, and then I post the participation form in the Facebook event and also on Instagram.

I say, "Hey, we're doing Porchella.

If you'd like to participate, the link's in my bio."

There's a Google participation form.

That's all the different questions on it.

You know, what's your name, what's your band name?

What kind of music do you play?

Or if you're a porch host, what kind of music do you prefer?

So I usually start with who's playing on their own porch.

(laughs) That's the easiest one.

And then I go by music taste.

So if people say they want rock or punk or indie, then I try to link them up with the right musician.

And I have a app on here, so I can text from my phone, and I introduce the musician with the porch host.

- [Skye] People have to, like, go online and look on the map.

It's kind of like you're doing a treasure hunt for great music.

(mellow rock music) - [Christina] I do encourage everybody to bring cash, like bring cash, tip your musicians, especially if there's one band that you really, really liked.

A lot of the bands will sell CDs, and they're more than welcome to.

And I know the first year, they got tipped really well.

So I do try to push that.

♪ So don't you worry ♪ ♪ That's why I ♪ - [Christina] So my son Jacob Fletcher is gonna play this year.

It took him a long time to figure out what Jacob's thing was.

So after Nick his dad died, he picked up Nick's guitar, and so he started playing like pretty much immediately after.

He knocked it out, and it's been really, really fun for him.

I'm really excited that Jake's playing.

I'm really excited.

He's so good.

♪ All night, up all night ♪ - Cret and I had known each other for I think 22 years.

- I remember her very vividly like by the coffee counter.

She's looking up at me, and she's like, "We gotta do something sometime.

We gotta play."

- And then, you know, 20 years and life happened.

- She just texted me and is like, "Hey, we gotta do this," and it was like, "Well, yeah, we do."

- So it's really great to like collaborate with someone that you've known a long time.

This is just like the perfect opportunity.

♪ But it's time to sound the choir, yeah ♪ I think ultimately when I think of like what makes a music community, I think of grassroots things, things that are very DIY without a whole lot of artifice and pretension.

And there's really nothing that is less pretentious than just like people on porches making music in the way that people have always made music.

- [Christina] There's a lot of like silliness while they're out and about, and everybody's in the best mood.

It's really, really fun.

♪ But we are strong, and we are able ♪ - Whoo!

(audience applauds) - [Skye] Thank you.

Go to the other porches now and be merry.

♪ We all bring choices ♪ ♪ That take it there ♪ ♪ Everyone has a twin ♪ ♪ At the end of the day ♪