PREVIEW: Schenectady Porchfest Promises Music With a Mission
09/19 @ GE Realty Plot, Schenectady
“What we love most about the day is the atmosphere, playing right on someone’s porch with no stage or barrier, and watching a historic neighborhood turn into a walkable music festival for an afternoon.”
Steve Weisse has spent much of the last year preparing for Schenectady Porchfest. As the founder of the all-day event that will see 15 musical acts performing on the porches of the stunning residences in Schenectady’s GE Plot neighborhood, he wears many hats in order to ensure that the event goes smoothly. Now in its fourth year, Porchfest aims to bring live music to the community in the most accessible way: free, outdoors, with a lot of variety and the ability for audiences to choose their own adventures.
“We’ve got a banjo duo, a couple of classical groups, a pop duo, a sitar duo, and a good showing of jazz groups,” he tells me about this year’s line up.
Over the course of the seven-hour festival, the community is invited to walk freely around the neighborhood, choosing when and where they’d like to stop and take in some tunes from acts like the acoustic quartet Unken Brew, the internationally-recognized Alex Torres Orquestra, and even Schenectady’s own Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s Choir & Musicians. Dave Gleason, pianist for one of the festival’s jazz acts, the Art D’Echo Trio, says that he’s excited about how the community transforms itself for a day.
“What we love most about the day is the atmosphere, playing right on someone’s porch with no stage or barrier, and watching a historic neighborhood turn into a walkable music festival for an afternoon,” he says. Even if you don’t live in the GE Plot, that’s no problem for the festival. Just as their flyer says, “Stroll, stand, or bring a lawn chair” to take part in the festivities, with parking available throughout the neighborhood.
Gleason, also a teacher with Proctors Collaborative School of the Arts in Schenectady, explains that playing Porchfest in past years has given his group a chance to connect with young people outside of the school day. “Two of [the Trio’s members] teach in Schenectady, so Porchfest day means running into students, parents, colleagues, and friends, brought together by live music.”
Photo from Porchfest 2025
Attendees of the festival will note that all participating musicians are Capital Region locals. Weisse notes that over the years, he’s been contacted by musicians outside of the Capital Region, inquiries he politely declines, aiming to keep Porchfest “as local as possible.”
Even as the logistics of running a multi-venue event can get overwhelming, especially as the number of musicians and locations expands each year, Weisse is thrilled that the event has continued to grow. Reminiscing on where Porchfest started four years ago, he quips, “I completely blame you every time I get a chance, in the best possible way. You deserve credit for this because you really did inspire it.”
Insisting that I include this in my article, Weisse recalls how I approached him five years ago about Schenectady hosting a Porchfest event after I performed in Ithaca’s very own festival. Having known Weisse for several decades, and recognizing him as an active part of the local music scene, I thought he’d be just the person to pitch the idea to. Of course, Weisse ran with it, taking Porchfest to his local AFM chapter, which was enthusiastic about getting it off the ground.
The rest, of course, is Schenectady history, and this year’s lineup of Capital Region talent is the largest yet.
“We’re going to be paying about 47 musicians,” Weisse excitedly reports, giving away Porchfest’s not-to-secret mission. After convincing neighbors to contribute their outdoor spaces, finalizing the musical lineup, and organizing the food trucks and Porta Potties, Weisse says, “We want people to get paid.”
That’s not as simple as it sounds. As the Secretary and Treasurer Emeritus of the Schenectady-Amsterdam chapter of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Weisse has used the available resources to produce the event. The AFM provided the initial seed money from the Mohawk Valley Society for Live Music, with additional funding coming from corporate entities and other organizations like the Music Performance Trust Fund, a non-profit established by and funded via royalty streams from Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and the Warner Music Group in coordination with AFM nationally. All this means that Weisse has been busy writing grant proposals for Porchfest’s own 501(c)(3) non-profit since last year’s Schenectady Porchfest ended, continuing to secure funding even in the weeks leading up to the festival.
Photo from Porchfest 2025
Whereas Porchfest events in other parts of the state like Ithaca (where the concept originated) are much larger and feature hundreds of performers, Schenectady’s event is much smaller due to the organizers’ insistence that everyone be compensated.
“[Porchfest] provides music, but also a sustainable financial stream for the musicians themselves. All of the union musicians get paid scale. And if you're not in the union, you have the option of joining the union if you want”
Non-union talent receives payment too, although not at the same rate, but Weisse is quick to clarify that it’s not because their work is valued less. “It’s because we're using union funding to pay for this,” he explains.
Weisse hopes that more musicians will join the union, not just for the money, but to bolster the union’s strength in the area, particularly among younger musicians who may not realize just how much financial and institutional support the union can provide. With more voices and ideas within union membership, he declares, the more diverse the ideas for development and future events there will be.
“There's a lot of stuff that we can do for musicians,” Weisse says as our conversation comes to a close, but not before adding, “I would seriously love it if you wind up joining the union.”
Whether you’re a musician, GE Plot resident, or just Cap Region local ready to join in on the fun, Schenectady Porchfest is sure to be a full day of music and neighborhood joy for all ages in one of Schenectady’s most historic communities.
Schenectady Porchfest is Saturday, September 19 in Schenectady's GE Plot neighborhood. For the full schedule, performance locations, and more information, visit schenectadyporchfest.org.