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“Where I come from, it’s cornbread and chicken, where I come from, a lot of front porch pickin’...” — Alan Jackson
Of all the made-up holidays that flutter around our era like moths around the front door light, one of my favorites is Play Music on the Porch Day.
It’s a simple concept: Everyone, everywhere, takes a little time to make music on the last Saturday of August every year. That’s it. You can sing, hum, whistle, play an instrument or anything else that makes a tune on a summer’s day.
The folks who organized this event describe it this way: “What if for one day everything stopped? And we all just listened to the music.”
Ideally, of course, it’s not just solo singing. Music is one of the oldest and best ways to bring people together. We can all envision a simpler time when folks would get together on the porch or around a campfire and sing songs together.
Those times seem impossibly far away, but I’ll tell you, that distance is an optical illusion. We all think the music we hear in our earpods or car speakers is the best, but no matter how mechanically flawless it sounds, the music you make yourself and with others is immeasurably better.
You don’t have to be in tune or in rhythm to share a smile and a good moment together.
That human connection and physical making of sound with other humans is what music is really about, not the pitch-perfection of a recording studio.
If you need some ideas for a few songs, I put a little songbook together at www.bit.ly/Porch-Songbook. (You can print it for free at your nearest Timberland Regional Library.)
Last year I was a latecomer to Play Music on the Porch Day. I learned about it the day before, if memory serves. I decided to put out a quick Facebook post inviting people to join me at... hmm, where should we meet... (I closed my eyes and mentally threw a dart at public places in the Twin Cities)... the Stan Hedwall Park kitchen.
I picked up some doughnuts and headed down with my 12-string guitar in my car and a song in my heart.
I was soon joined by a longtime musician, a well-bearded guitar picker named Johnny Roquemore. I had seen him at the Fair and picked up one of his CDs (he records about one a year with his own compositions). I loved it. His songs are clever and well-produced.
We played some tunes together and another friend of mine, Cheryl Erickson, showed up as well.
We had a blast playing, chatting and listening. I was so abuzz with energy that when I got home, I strolled down the road to my Beatles-loving neighbor to play him a song from the Fab Four.
I was still so pleased and inspired that I wrote a song on the theme of Play Music on the Porch Day. It includes these lines:
Got a little song in my heart
Got a little truth to impart
When you share the music
You’ll do your little part
To give the tired world a jump start
Like a shot of love to the heart
Come on and sing a song from your heart.
•••
Johnny and I were talking and I think we’re going to try for a reprise, this coming Saturday, Aug. 30, at 10 a.m. at the Stan Hedwall Park kitchen. (If someone is already there, we’ll move to some nearby shade. Maybe bring a lawn chair or two.)
I hope you join us. Bring an instrument, a song request or just yourself.
I can’t wait to sing with you. The only thing I’m not looking forward to is hearing someone say “I can’t sing.” It’s true that none of us can sing like the people on TikTok, YouTube, CDs or records (depending on your age) but we all can make a joyful noise. And in these troubled times, that’s a health tonic that we all should get to guzzling.
Everyone has a voice. Everyone can sing. The world is better when we all do.
Let’s pull up a porch and start making music.
•••
Speaking of music, this Saturday, Aug. 23, is Music on the Hill at the Seminary Hill Natural Area. Come at 10 a.m. to hear the dulcet sounds of the South Sound Mountain Dulcimer Circle. There will also be music by Centralia troubadour Russel Barr, performing an eclectic mix of cover songs from artists like Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, and more.
There is no cost to attend and there will be free cookies. Sounds pretty sweet to me!
Brian Mittge is a community enthusiast who has written for The Chronicle since 2000 as a reporter, editor and columnist. He can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
