March 7, 2025: Back Porch Festival LIVE!

We’re kicking off 3 days of music with more than 60 artists across 10 venues across the city of Northampton. The 11th Back Porch Festival is here to turn our chilly western Massachusetts into a New Orleans-inspired roots and Americana extravaganza.  Despite power outages across the city, with some quick thinking on the part of our engineers, we broadcast live and in the dark from the stage at The Iron Horse, one of those 10 venues!We hear how the changes in format and the lineup of artists are still resonating with the music lovers of western Mass. with Jim Olsen of Signature Sounds, whose own back porch show on WRSI, our alma mater, was the impetus of the whole thing.  Before you ramble through the streets, we give you a taste of the program with the classic bluegrass sounds of Old Hat Stringband, the catchy licks of Jake McKelvie and an artist who is no stranger to the greater music scenes of Northampton, Mike Flood.An extra special thanks to Bart Rankin, Jared Libby, Cara Foster and everyone that helped us make this show happen!