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Why We’re Leaving Social Media

Justus Stout | May 23, 2023 | News | 0 comments

Recently, Porchlight posted the last (planned) social media content for the foreseeable future. Since you’ll hear and see less from us there, we wanted to explain ourselves a bit, and invite you into some better ways to connect with Porchlight.

First off, we recognize some productive uses for social media platforms. Lots of the artists we work to support have robust social media presences. Since most all of us use these various platforms, we probably don’t have to argue too much for their potential benefit.

Nonetheless, we’ve decided that, for our organization and work, social media conflicts almost centrally with our mission at Porchlight. I’d like to explain why.

Behind the Porchlight with the McMannis Family: Come Through, Don’t Fly Over

Abbey Sitterley | January 19, 2023 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

Norman, Oklahoma is big on college football. Home of the Oklahoma Sooners, Norman is about three hours north of Dallas, a halfway point from Oklahoma to Tennessee. Norman is home to the McMannis family (arguably more soccer people than football people), transplants from California who appreciate just what a hub of connectivity their city is.

“Norman, Oklahoma can be really overlooked in terms of location,” Raeanna McMannis explained. “A lot of times, when people hear ‘Oklahoma,’ it’s kind of wrapped into the flyover states. There’s a lot of rich tradition in our town and it’s also really good thoroughfare for musicians from Tenessee that are dropping down into Dallas.”

Hosting Before Porchlight

Taking note of their prime location for touring musicians and having their interests peaked by Carly Bannister’s then-upcoming “Technically a Texas Tour” consisting of some house concerts alongside Jac Thompson and S. Grant Parker, the McMannis family fell into hosting.

Behind the Porchlight: Ghost of Christmas Present

Abbey Sitterley | December 15, 2022 | Behind the Porchlight | 1 comment

“Come in and know me better, man!” Thus, the ghost of Christmas Present greets Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge in the timeless classic A Christmas Carol. The ghost of Christmas Present, characterized by abundance, warmth, mirth, and welcome, reminds us of our best Christmases. These things about Christmas that we love most can all find fulfillment in art and hospitality. So, it follows that Christmas house concerts fit in this Christmas season like the star atop the tree.

Porchlight Christmas Show Season

This month, across the country—from Rochester, NY down to Richmond, TX, back up to San Diego, CA, and many places in between—Porchlight hosts are holding Porchlight Christmas concerts. For some, this represents the first event of the Christmas season. For others, a welcome respite from the hubbub of holiday shopping and planning. The temptation to lose oneself in either isolation or consumerism tightens its grip each passing year, with its highest potency felt during the holidays.

Behind The Porchlight: The Local Hang-Ups On Being Hosts and Artists

Abbey Sitterley | May 11, 2022 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

Behind “Behind the Porchlight”

In my work with Porchlight, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to hosts around the country for this blog series. Mostly we talk about their hosting experience: the initial planning, their home and setup, interactions with the artists, and what they learned from the night. While each interview is unique, common threads spool them together. Of these, three are constant: a rooted love for God, a commitment to serve others, and the belief that music is an ordained catalyst for both.

Their stories have served to strengthen my faith. In these polarizing and isolating times, it’s life-giving to hear how others are welcoming the stranger and feeding the hungry (both physically and creatively) with the first fruits of what they have: their homes, kitchens, friend groups, sound equipment, stages, and most valuably—their vulnerability and time. They offer whatever they have, as they are.

Behind The Porchlight: Curating Community with the DuBois

Abbey Sitterley | April 13, 2022 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

Just outside Asheville city limits, you can find the home of Bryan and Karen DuBois. The large picture window that graces the front of their house mirrors a twin piece of glass looking out into their backyard—a symbol of their home’s openness to community.

When the DuBois hosted artists Zane Vickery and Carly Taich a couple of months ago, it was their first experience like this. It has served as a new chapter in an already storied history of hospitality. “I think it starts back with family, at least for me,” Karen shared. “I come from a big family so I like to have a lot of people around. My mom wasn’t necessarily the best cook, but she could put out a big pot of food. And if the neighbor kid was over and it was dinner time, that was okay. There was a plate for the neighbor kid. It was ‘If you want to stay, you’re welcome to.’ I kind of grew up like that. And we always wanted our kids to have their friends come over when they wanted.”

Behind The Porchlight: Live from The Living Room

Abbey Sitterley | March 8, 2022 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

There are myriad ways to practice hospitality. The Porchlight network is full of folks opening up their living spaces to live music, but many open up their businesses and churches as well. So while most house concerts tend to happen in living rooms, the recent one with Andy Zipf happened in the Living Room.

Jim Poorman, pastor at H20 Church Orlando (which hosts the Living Room), first learned about the Porchlight network from a man in his church. From then on, things clicked into gear. With previous experience in hosting, Jim knew what to expect when the night came, and hosting Andy Zipf only served to reinforce his perspective.

Behind The Porchlight: Havenwood Hosts Embrace Creativity

Abbey Sitterley | February 8, 2022 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

Jason and Cary Brege’s home sits nestled in a regular neighborhood in Raleigh, North Carolina. Though their home faces the suburbs, the party’s often in the back—on the homemade stage, that is.

Welcome to Havenwood, a quarter-acre property backing up to a 27-acre lake, all teeming with wildlife. This place exudes and embraces the uniqueness of creativity. The Brege’s stage, a detached deck they built as one of a few projects during the early months of COVID-19, foregrounds this view. Guests to shows at the Brege home also enjoy access to a fridge full of Dr. Pepper in glass bottles (a signature feature of Havenwood) and have the opportunity to get their game on with artists at the post-show kitchen table ping-pong game. But the real VIP-access, Cary tells me, is in the treehouse that overlooks the scene, perfect for the kids.

Behind The Porchlight: The Art of Hospitality w/ Austin Smith

Abbey Sitterley | November 4, 2021 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

There’s a method to the madness of opening up one’s home for live music. For some, this may look like choosing lights that lend a certain ambiance to the room. Others might invite a friend with a similar music vibe to open for the visiting artist. All of this exhibits your particular art of hospitality—as significant as the art it frames and sustains.

Whatever elements we decide, the choices we make in that process inevitably spring from a root of belief, of meaning. Orthopraxy follows orthodoxy. In other words, our faith feeds all of our work.

So what does it mean to have a theology of hospitality? Where can it take us? We caught up with Porchlight host Austin Smith from Washington D.C. the other day to pick his brain on the matter.

Behind the Porchlight: Getting the Word Out w/ Clay Schmidt

Abbey Sitterley | September 29, 2021 | Behind the Porchlight | 1 comment

Summer may be over, but it was one for the books. Thanks to you, our network has exploded with hosts around the nation taking advantage of the warm weather for outdoor shows, fostering community, and welcoming musicians to play backyard concerts for a rapt audience.

One such host was Clay Schmidt and his family.

A Making of Memoir: Two Music Videos for Warbler

Rusty Hein | April 2, 2021 | Commentary | 0 comments

Back in 2014, I drove out to Opelika, AL, from Sugar Hill, GA, with sound equipment for Justus Stout’s wedding reception. There was this guy, Sean Sullivan, who had flown in to Atlanta from Oakland, CA for the occasion, and he needed a ride out to Opelika. I had heard of Sean, or at least his band Warbler, because Michael Minkoff must’ve shown me this music video some years before:

I don’t remember liking this video very much when I saw it. I wasn’t sure what I thought of the guy in it; I couldn’t tell who he was, exactly. Was he kidding? The lipstick confused me a lot, and I wasn’t sure I really understood what he was talking about.

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