Things will be “stomping” on Governors Island during the first Saturday of summer.
The Porch Stomp Folk Music Festival, a free, rain-or-shine, no-tickets-necessary folk music festival on Governors Island, is slated for June 21 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is run by volunteers, and donations cover all the costs.
Sponsored by nonprofit Make Music New York, the festival will feature strum and sing performances at and near Nolan Park, in the northeast section of Governors Island, against the backdrop of the New York City skyline. This year, the festival will feature around 200 to 250 acts and 400 performers on 18 stages on the former Coast Guard base-turned-public greenspace.
“It’s all types of folk music and musicians from all over, but mostly from New York City,” said Theodora Boguszewski, the festival’s producer. “For the most part, everything is acoustic, with very little amplification, so we can have stages close together.”
While some music festivals have main acts, Porch Stomp is a huge mix of performers in various folk genres.
“There is no main act. That’s the philosophy of our festival. It’s like a big, family picnic,” Boguszewski said. “There’s not a lot of hierarchy. There’s no headliner. Everybody pretty much does a 30-minute set.”
A true grassroots festival, performers specializing in everything from sea shanties to Irish music will set up on makeshift stages on the grass called “porches.” Hundreds of folk bands, artists, and organizations will perform at and near Nolan Park and Colonel’s Row.
Each “stage,” or porch, is curated and produced by an arts organization or local venue such as Cowgirl Seahorse, Brooklyn Contra, the Folk Music Society of New York, Jalopy Theater and The People’s Voice Cafe, among others.
Governors Island provides the ideal setting for this folksy getaway from the big city. Situated off the tip of Lower Manhattan and accessible only via ferry, the huge park provides ample open space for serene recreation, picnicking and bike-riding.
“Make Music New York wanted to do some programming at Governors Island,” Boguszewski continued. “When it first started, we were performing on porches. Not only music, also dance.”
When they started Porch Stomp in 2014 (with “porch” indicating the type of stages and “stomp” referring to a type of dancing), Governors Island was quieter, Boguszewski continued.
The houses of Nolan Park and Colonel’s Row were unoccupied by tenants, although the island today has become a hotbed of arts organizations and nonprofits that program in Nolan Park.
Organizations in residency in the houses in Nolan Park produce programming on the weekends, preventing Porch Stomp from performing there.
Boguszewski said they had to adjust and move most performances onto the lawn, making it truly grassroots on every level.
There is a finale with a performance and sing-along led by Cole Quest and the City Pickers of “This Land is Your Land” at the Porch Stomp festival headquarters on Governors Island at 5:20 p.m. Saturday.
The Governors Island ferry runs regularly from Manhattan to Soissons Landing on Governors Island and from Brooklyn to Yankee Pier on the island. The NYC Ferry also makes stops between Wall Street Pier 11 to Yankee Pier. Ferry rides from Manhattan generally run about 8 minutes.
Citibike provides one way to get around the festival which, with 18 stages, can lead to a lot of walking.
For more on the music festival, visit porchstomp.com. To learn more about Governors Island, visit govisland.com/plan-your-visit.
