Mayor Kelly Girtz introduces the band EDDie Halfass at his house during the 2023 Historic Athens Porchfest. The rock band returns as one of over 260 bands performing at this year’s Porchfest on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (Photo/Andrea Hudson)
By Evan Frilingos
Marcelo Buril began playing blues in his native Brazil, but when he moved to Athens 26 years ago to study English at the University of Georgia, the blues scene was non-existent.
Now, he’s the lead guitarist of the blues band The Original Screw Tops, one of over 260 bands performing across seven Athens neighborhoods at Historic Athens Porchfest.
The free event takes place on Sunday from 1-7 p.m., and all bands have ties to Athens, according to a Historic Athens press release. The neighborhoods are Boulevard, Newtown, Buena Vista Heights, Pulaski Heights, Cobbham, Normaltown and Reese-Hancock.
“You have an opportunity to see how diverse Athens is,” Buril said. “People from all over the world, all sorts of genres … and to see somebody playing there with such passion for free, it gives you a different experience.”
Historic Athens aims for diversity to characterize Porchfest, said Denise Sunta, the organization’s senior director of operations and co-chair. A wide range of genres is one of the ways the team emphasizes diversity.
“We have everything from punk, to hip-hop, to pop, to country, bluegrass, I mean, all sorts of genres that will attract different audiences of different backgrounds,” she said.
Porchfest began in 2019 with 70 bands across four neighborhoods, according to the official website. But the added activities, bands, neighborhoods and participants over the years haven’t changed its goal.
“Success looks like community engagement,” said Sarah Frazer, Historic Athens’ communication director. “The soul of Porchfest is just celebrating Athens and its historic neighborhoods and the people that live here that make it so special.”
Porchfest has added a food truck lot at Athentic Brewing Company, which creates a food hub for attendees, said Paul Skinner, co-owner of Athentic Brewing.
“It makes it a special event for us to have new people kind of coming in,” he said.
Athentic Brewing has also partnered again with Historic Athens to present a beer for Porchfest, which commemorates lost Athens heritage sites, Skinner said.
"We've been part of Porchfest since the beginning,” he said. “We felt it was, like, the perfect combination of bringing folks to Athens, engaging our communities, and sharing with them some of the beautiful music that comes out of Athens."
The beer and food truck lot join an expanded Indie South vendors market and free trolley rides with Athens Trolley Tours, according to the release.
Porchfest has also innovated on the technology side. The UGA Community Mapping Lab led by Jerry Shannon put together a new mobile-friendly map, said Shelby Day, co-chair at Historic Athens and porch host.
“The navigation element is something that we really were focused this year on, kind of trying to make it easier for attendees,” Sunta said.
Visitors can maneuver all of Porchfest’s attractions, neighborhoods and bands with the map found under the “Neighborhoods” tab on the Porchfest website.
Why I wrote this story
Porchfest is one of Athens' largest events, but new additions, a growing map and an overwhelming number of artists can confuse attendees. This story helps them navigate the event and know what to expect, and it has proximity and impact as top newsworthy factors.