The Acquaviva Social Club performs during the seventh annual Historic Athens Porchfest in Athens, Georgia, on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. Porchfest 2025 featured 262 performances spread across seven historic neighborhoods. (Photo/Emily Laycock)
A guide to this year’s record-breaking Porchfest 2025
By Emily Laycock
A record 262 musicians will perform this Sunday, on porches across seven historic neighborhoods, as part of the seventh annual Historic Athens Porchfest. The free festival showcases Athens' diverse music scene, which includes everything from punk rock to hip-hop.
“I think one of the things about Porchfest that I love the most is how it brings together folks from all types of different backgrounds within our community together to celebrate something that Athens is very well known for, which is music in addition to our history,” said Denise Sunta, Historic Athens’ senior director of operations.
How to plan your day
Experienced attendees such as Sunta recommend creating a plan ahead of time in order to make the most of the packed day, which will feature around 40 shows every hour.
The revamped Porchfest website, which is now phone-friendly, makes navigating the festival this year easier than ever before, according to Sunta. The website allows users to filter performances by genre and neighborhood, and it provides direct links to Google or Apple Maps for navigation.
Paul Skinner, co-owner of Athentic Brewing Co., also encourages attendees to remain open-minded to performances that may not be on their list.
“I like to have a strategy, but I also like to keep it spontaneous,” Skinner said. “So if you're walking through those neighborhoods and you happen to hear something that is not on your list, you need to be spontaneous and be able to move away from your plan and go, ‘Hey, that's intriguing, let's go see what's going down there.’”
Getting around
Historic Athens is once again partnering with Athens Trolley Tours to provide a free trolley service between the seven featured neighborhoods. Master’s students from the University of Georgia Historic Preservation program will also be on board to give riders a historical architecture tour of the neighborhoods along the route.
This year’s trolley route features eight stops, including stops at Athentic Brewing Co., Holman & Price and Boulevard & Grady.
Key performances
Porchfest will wrap up with The Mayor’s Show at 7 p.m. in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood. Marcelo Buril, a member of local blues band The Original Screw Tops, says it’s one show he does not want to miss.
“I think that one's (The Mayor’s Show) a cool one because it's the only band playing, you know, so everybody goes there and it's kind of to cap the event,” Buril said.
Historic Athens will also host its own porch at its office on Prince Avenue, an event that Sunta says, “is always pretty special.” This year, local hip-hop artist BlackNerdNinja, an Athens native, will perform there at 3 p.m.
Additional events
Porchfest will also feature a vendors market at Normaltown Brewing Co. and a new food truck park at Athentic Brewing Co.
Athentic Brewing Co. will also host the Historic Athens Porchfest Kick-Off Party at 6 p.m. on Friday Oct. 17. The event will include a food truck from Cafe Racer, merch pre-sale pick up, Athens-themed trivia, karaoke, and the release of the official beer of Porchfest 2025.
This year's beer, “Lost Places Lager” is made from West African fonio grain, which Skinner says is known for its "drinkability." Each beer can will also feature a QR code that will link to the Historic Athens website.
Why I Wrote The Story
I approached this story from the perspective of a reader—specifically, someone experiencing Porchfest for the first time, just as I was. I shaped my reporting around the kinds of questions I would want answered myself, focusing on useful, tangible details that could form a “survival guide” for festival-goers. Writing this article pushed me to be more technical and concise in how I present information, ultimately strengthening my ability to produce service-oriented journalism that meets audience needs.