West Philadelphia

My friend and bass extraordinaire Hari Nandu (aka BassBowwow, aka Photobowwow) joined me for the first stop on my road tour: the 10th annual West Philly Porchfest. The original plan was to arrive Friday night, scout out a corner, and then set up and busk Saturday, but that changed quickly after arriving --

We reached our AirBnb and were welcomed by a mouse. Judging from the smell of the room, I think he had just finished smoking a ciggie. Not for nothing, Hari had already reached out to his friends John and Lisa in the neighborhood to hang out. John kindly offered for us to crash with him and his family and Lisa welcomed us to play on her porch for the festival. Kismet!

John's kids run a lemonade stand each year. They came up with lemonade-themed parody lyrics for 2000s pop-punk songs to drum up sales and Hari and I were their backing band. Hari and I were proud of their creativity and business acumen for choosing Blink 182’s “All the Small Things” and Yellowcard’s "Ocean Avenue."

Everyone needs to experience something like Porch Fest once in their lifetime. The neighborhood had over 200 pop-up “venues" for musicians and artists. Goes to show that you can throw an incredible event from the ease of your front door or sidewalk with nothing but an amp and a crowd. It was amazing to experience this community connection of neighbors and friends-from-afar through live music.

Food recs: Don Barriga birria quesadilla, Saad’s Halal chicken maroosh, Richman’s Ice Cream tropical gelati with vanilla soft serve

Car tunes (albums or songs I listened to on repeat on the drive): Harbour Haunts 'The Sound of Life Right Here,' Means & Ways ‘Fear Filter,' ValMar “Friendly Fire," Niall Connolly 'There’s So Much More to See’

Thanks, Philadelphia! Next up, Baltimore.