3rd Annual Newburgh Porchfest

Melissa Dvozenja-Thomas, Executive Director, Arts Mid-Hudson

What happens when the concert hall is a front porch, the audience gathers on the sidewalk, and an afternoon walk through the neighborhood becomes a chance to discover your next favorite local musician? On Saturday, October 3, Newburgh will become one big stage as Newburgh Porchfest returns for its third year. From noon to 6 p.m., musicians will perform throughout the city on front porches and at local businesses and community organizations, creating a free outdoor music festival built around discovery, connection, and the creative spirit of Newburgh.

And there will be plenty to discover. More than 45 musical acts will perform across 26 host sites, with sounds ranging from fusion, jam, and ska to hip-hop and trance. Returning performers include Soil & Soul, Waylan Roche, Sean Ryan, and Alex Haines & Friends, while Azzure Ponder, A Few Fine Gents, and Ayo Nish! are among the artists joining Porchfest for the first time.

But part of the fun of Porchfest is that the experience isn’t contained to a single stage or even a traditional arts venue. Local businesses including Golden Hour Books, Dina’s Italian Cafeteria, and The Wherehouse will become performance spaces for the day. Community institutions including the Newburgh Free Library and Newburgh Historical Society are serving as both host sites and members of the festival’s planning committee.

That means attending Porchfest can be as much about exploring Newburgh as listening to music. Visitors can build their own route, move from one performance to another, stop into neighborhood businesses, encounter different styles of music, and experience the city’s architecture and streets from a different perspective.

“Porchfest celebrates what makes our community so beautiful,” said Newburgh Porchfest Committee Member and Librarian Kristen Thornton-De Stafeno. “It highlights the creativity, diversity, and historic architecture of the city of Newburgh.”

That combination has been part of Porchfest since songwriter and Soil & Soul member Lisa Pellegrino founded the Newburgh event in 2024. Held each year during the first weekend of October, Porchfest also coincides with Archtober Newburgh, giving residents and visitors another reason to explore the city.

Perhaps what makes the event especially inviting is its simplicity. There is no ticket to purchase and no single headliner everyone is waiting to see. Instead, the afternoon belongs to dozens of local musicians, the people who open their spaces to them, and the audiences who wander from one performance to the next. Come with a plan, or simply follow the sound of music down the street.

Either way, Newburgh Porchfest offers a chance to experience what can happen when neighbors, artists, businesses, and community organizations come together—and an entire city becomes the stage.

If you go:
3rd Annual Newburgh Porchfest
Various Locations - Newburgh, NY
October 3, 2026
12:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Contact: 845-563-3650
kthornton-destafeno@rcls.org
linktr.ee/NewburghPorchfest